Chuck: The Sarah Walker Chronicles
by ref51907
Summary: A story written from Sarah's prospective about the events of her life.
1. Trust Me

Introduction

-Hello fellow Chuck fans. This is my second attempt at writing a fan fiction for this show. It was my favorite while it aired and I continue to re-watch episodes at home. Anyway, I should tell you all up front that I tried to write this story solely from Sarah's perspective. The show was called Chuck so he was the main focus and we learn more about Chuck then Sarah. So I started thinking about the events from her perspective, what she felt, why she acted the way she did and wrote to that. Each chapter takes place during or around the events surrounding the corresponding episode. When all is said and done I hope to have one chapter for each episode. A Herculean task I know but I do enjoy this show so much.

-A few other things to note: I tried to get away from a strict narrative of the events we saw each week and come up with creative ways to tell the story. You can tell me how I fared after the first few are out. As always I would love to hear your feedback, whether positive or negative.

-The next thing is that whenever you see something italicized that is strictly Sarah's thoughts.

-As of this posting I have the first 16 chapters written. I have also lost my beta reader so if anyone is interested in helping me make these readable please let me know.

I would like to thank Aoife McEvoy for beta reading and helping me with the story. So without any further introductions here it is.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck.

* * *

**The Beach**

**Burbank, California**

Sarah and Casey sat in her car and discussed who was to handle Chuck now that they had received their orders. She saw how John Casey interacted with Chuck: his cynicism, cruel disposition, cold blooded shoot-first-and ask-questions later attitude; and was insistent that she be the person to handle Chuck. Casey reluctantly agreed but told her that he was sticking around to make sure she would do her job.

Sarah walked out on to the sandy beach, found a nearby tree, and watched Chuck. He just sat there, staring out into the water as the waves rolled up onto the shore, only to be pushed back out again.

Sarah had her orders. Graham was clear. Protect him. Get him to work for us. Do what it takes. Do what it takes. Those words, that phrase, had been her motto, her guideline, her guard rail, the needle that had pointed north on her compass when things got hazy and the line between right and wrong blurred.

That phrase echoed inside her now as she stared at him. Something deep inside her told her that the motto that had guided her did not apply in this situation. She didn't move - couldn't move. All she could do was stare at him and wonder what he was thinking. _I don't even know what do. _She had to give him time to process what had happened this evening. _She_ need time to process these last several days.

* * *

**Several Days Earlier**

**Burbank, California**

**Buy More**

Sarah approached the Nerd Herd desk and watched as Chuck dropped the phone he had been holding when she stopped in front of him. He had been repeating the phrase Vicky Vale, Vicky Vale over and over again but now she had his undivided attention.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Sarah said with a big beautiful smile. She looked at Chuck and was struck by his deep brown eyes.

"Not at all." Chuck looked to Morgan, who stood next to the desk, and then back to her. "Uh, that's from Batman." Chuck explained to her.

Sarah gave a playful, flirtatious response. "Because that makes it better."

Chuck laughed nervously.

Sarah continued with the playful banter going on about names, and Chuck mentioned sadists and carnival freaks. When that line of conversation was exhausted Chuck asked her, "How can I help you..." he paused searching for a name.

"Sarah." She eagerly replied.

"Sarah." He repeated.

"I'm here about this." Sarah laid her broken phone on the counter.

Chuck picked up her phone, told her what was wrong with it, and what he was doing to fix the problem.

Sarah made sure to look at him while he worked on her phone, that way when he was done, he would be looking in her smiling blue eyes.

"Wow, you geeks are good." She continued to flirt when he handed it back to her all mended.

Chuck gave her a quick correction about being a nerd when they were interrupted by a dad who forgot to use a digital tape to record his daughters' ballerina recital.

Chuck turned back to Sarah, told her he was sorry, implying he wanted to stay and talk, but that work was calling him away.

Sarah smiled back, hoping to get a reaction out of him. Instead, he walked away from her to help the desperate father. Despite that seeming set-back, she had heard the conversation between Chuck and the dad, and was intrigued to see his solution to this problem.

Sarah watched intently as he leaned in close and whispered quietly into the little ballerina's ear. She didn't hear what he said to her, but whatever it was caused the girl to smile.

The music started. As Sarah watched the girl start to move her mind instinctively went to the little baby she had just rescued on her last mission. _That little baby was going to have this; a family that cares for her, and the opportunity to be a ballerina. I gave up everything. I gave up my mom so she could have one._

Sarah continued to watch as the ballerina twirled and danced and she smiled for the little baby. Her mind then switched to her childhood. For a few brief moments Sarah was a little girl again. Maybe it was the exhaustion she felt but did not show. Maybe it was that Chuck had struck a chord somewhere within her emotions, hitting on her wants and desires. Whatever the reason, Sarah pictured herself up there doing what she never got to do in all her years with her own dad.

_He will never know what he just gave me. Thank you, Chuck. This is no ordinary man. _His actions told her that he was a normal guy, but his association with Bryce spoke of spies, distrust, and disloyalty. She did not know which to believe.

Sarah paused as the music stopped. She took a deep breath. _Snap out of it. Bury your feelings. You have a mission to complete. My feelings and thoughts can't matter. All that matters is that I have to find out what he knows. Someone else might know he is here, or be here at any moment._

Sarah waited by the desk, smiling, when Chuck began to make his way back over to where she was, but he was stopped by another store employee and began talking to him.

_Don't come on too strong. Leave your card. I have no other subtle options._

Sarah reached inside her purse, grabbed her card, set it down on the counter and walked away. As she exited the Buy More, she made sure to look around and check out who else was there. She wanted to be sure that no one else was there snooping around.

* * *

**Sarah's Apartment**

**That Evening**

After breaking the computer before being able to see what was on it, she went back to her apartment and waited for his call. When it didn't come, she decided that the following day she would take matters into her own hands.

As she laid in bed and tried to get some rest, a thought kept reverberating through her mind. _Chuck has to be working with Bryce. Chuck seemed like a nice, normal, regular guy. But no one can be that nice of a guy, can they? Is he?_

Her mind was filled with more questions than answers. _He walked away from me to help that little girl. From me; No one does that to me anymore. _After she joined the CIA, Sarah had blossomed into the beautiful woman she was today. Men did not walk away from her willingly.

* * *

**Sarah's Apartment**

**The next day**

Sarah decided a date would be the perfect opportunity to keep eyes on Chuck and watch out for Casey, once she found out he was on the case. When she went to the Buy More to make the date, it went as easy as she thought it would. However, she couldn't help but smile back at him when he gave her a goofy, excited grin about the evening to come. It would be an evening that she would remember for the rest of her life, in great detail.

Sarah wanted to be extra cautious around him during the date. She donned her typical date-with-an-asset attire, complete with an ankle strap loaded with throwing knives, hair sticks dipped with a toxin, and a Kevlar vest under her shirt.

"You're on your own on this one, Sarah." Graham told her through the phone.

"I don't know about this guy, Graham." Sarah responded, shaking her head and giving a shrug of her shoulders.

"Nice guys aren't sent government secrets."

There came a knock at the door. Sarah put the clip into her gun and went to answer the door. "What should I do if he runs?" She asked him and slid her gun between her shirt and her jeans, making sure it was secure.

"Kill him." Graham's responded.

Sarah opened the door and saw Chuck standing there, smiling ear to ear, and holding a bouquet of flowers. She knew immediately that she would have a difficult time putting him down, if that was necessary.

* * *

**The Date**

He took her to a Mexican restaurant that serenaded its guests with mariachi music. It was the perfect mood music and Sarah found herself completely taken in by the atmosphere. The totality of everything had her wrapped up and believing this was a real date.

The way he talked, his witty sense of humor, and disarmingly attractive smile made it easy for Sarah to want to be honest with him. She felt safe with him. Not a, because she has hidden weapons kind of safe, but rather a comfortable kind of safe she had always felt when she had been at home, especially as a little girl.

As they talked about Chucks normal life, Captain Awesome, and why Sarah wasn't funny, the first few cracks were made in the wall she had built to protect herself and keep others from knowing the real Sarah Walker. Chuck was extremely easy to talk to and that made it difficult for her to stay on point.

_This isn't a real date. I have to keep up my guard up. I have to be combat ready. Casey and his team could be anywhere. But he can't know and this has to feel like a real date._

"But I did just come out of a long relationship so I may come with baggage." Sarah explained.

_Baggage. That is an understatement. My partner just betrayed me and everything I stand for. You seem like a normal guy. Please don't be associated with him._

Without missing a beat Chuck responded, "Well, I can be your very own baggage handler."

That statement caught her off guard. When she looked at him, he looked as surprised as she was. It was almost as if he couldn't believe what he had just said.

_Did he just say what I thought I heard?_

There was a momentary silence between them, both wondering what to do or say next. Sarah sure didn't know. She did what came natural to her. She remained silent and quickly glanced at their surroundings. _I see no one here. We're safe, for now._

Chuck broke the silence by asking about the ex and Sarah changed Bryce to Bruce. Chuck laughed at Bruce and brought up the name thing again, much like what happened at the Buy More.

When Sarah asked about any secrets or women he had, the mention of having someone back in college worried her. Why? She didn't know. This date was supposed to be part of a job but with every passing minute it felt less like a chore and more... normal, more like a real date.

"_Normal"… What a thought. _Sarah couldn't remember the last time she had felt normal, not to mention the last time "normal" could be used to accurately describe herself. She wasn't even sure if she knew what the word meant anymore. Being surrounded by so much of the abnormal definitely takes its toll on a person, which is probably why being around this seemingly genuine guy was so refreshing. She didn't know, really know, any normal guys and just the thought that a normal guy would be attracted to her was intoxicating. It almost made her feel like a normal life was within her reach. Almost.

When he explained that the woman was in his past, she felt the slightest bit of relief.

She laughed and smiled at him with sincerity that she wasn't even aware she still had. "I like you, Chuck." The words just rolled off her tongue naturally. And she meant it.

Unbeknownst to her, those words, in that very moment, planted the seeds to their future.

By the time they left the Mexican place and walked to the music club, their conversations flowed with ease. The laughter, smiles, and looks they gave each other were genuine, heartfelt, and real. Sarah was completely one-hundred percent enamored with Chuck and he had her undivided attention.

* * *

**The Beach**

**Burbank**

Sarah took a deep breath. _If only._

The wind began to pick up and her hair blew gently in the wind as a shiver shot through her.

Sarah sat under the tree she had found. Darkness was still all around her. Her gaze shifted to the man that sat several hundred feet in front of her. All she could make out was his silhouette set against the darkness of the night.

_Why did it have to change?_

* * *

**The Rest of the Date**

At the club Sarah spotted NSA agents and, almost like it was instinct, formulated a plan. The physical transformation made was slight, but the mental metamorphosis prepared her to do what was necessary to follow orders. She no longer thought in terms of "date" and "Chuck". The emotional attachment that may or may not have been forming was severed in an instant. The only thing that mattered was neutralizing the enemy, and getting the asset out of harm's way.

Sarah acted on her plan and pulled Chuck out onto the dance floor. She danced seductively, using her body and hands to distract and move around him on the dance floor while taking out the agents one by one. Upon seeing Casey, she grabbed Chuck's hand and led him out of the club to his car.

She drove his car in reverse down the street as fast as it could go while avoiding losing control of the Herder. She made a quick turn and the car went backwards down several flights of stairs used as a walkway between buildings.

Once the car stopped she explained the situation to Chuck. "Those men will hurt you. They're from the NSA and they're after you." Sarah said excitedly, the adrenaline from the chase still racing through her.

"Me, why? Wait, Why me? I'm nobody. I'm the supervisor of a Nerd Herd at a Buy More. Maybe one day I'll be assistant store manager and I don't even know if I want that job." Chuck continued talking. Under any other non-life threatening situation Sarah might have thought his nervous chatter to be cute, but not now.

"You know what, that's not your problem." Chuck slowed his speech. "But that is." He pointed out the window to the SUV that was barreling down the street at them.

It slammed into the Nerd Herder and spun it around several times. Sarah and Chuck got out of the car and took off running down the street.

"Let's go, Chuck, move." Sarah told him right before he tripped over the fender that had fallen off the Herder, and he fell to the ground.

Sarah turned and saw the SUV was now gunning for her. She stood straight up and stared at Casey for several long seconds. She then looked around for an escape and saw a blockade pole in a hole in the ground and got an idea.

She waited until the last possible second, then with lightning quick speed took a throwing knife from her ankle strap, spun, and threw it at the emergency blockade button, hitting it dead center. She then turned around, crouched behind the blockade poles, and let the SUV slam into the pole, stopping it dead in its tracks.

She took out her phone, requested air EVAC, and led him to the top of a building. When they reached the top of a building she asked him about Bryce, told him that he was her former partner, and that he went rogue on her.

Chuck told her he sent him an email with a riddle that he solved and that he saw lots and lots of pictures.

_He knows the secrets. He's the intersect._

Sarah heard Casey coming and told Chuck not to freak out. That she would need to point her gun at him.

Casey came walking up the stairs looking annoyed at how things were going. After some talk about who Chuck belongs to, Sarah had her gun was pointed at Chuck while Casey had his gun pointed at Sarah.

After a wisecrack about gun play and pancakes, Chuck turned and started to run away.

"Chuck, no!" Sarah screamed. _Please do not make me shoot you._

He stopped suddenly and explained to Sarah and Casey how he knew they were going to kill General Stanfield with a bomb. He told them about the Serbian demolitions expert, the NSA's intercepted blueprints of the hotel, and the CIA's file of schematics of a bomb in Prague.

After they decided Chuck knew the government's secrets, Sarah asked him if there was a way to diffuse the bomb. Chuck told her to ask for Bryce's help. That very moment she dropped the bombshell on Chuck.

"Bryce is dead. He died sending those secrets to you." Sarah told Chuck.

"Bryce is dead?" Chuck repeated.

Chuck and Sarah shared a moment of shock and pain as they looked at each other.

The sound of a gunshot startled Sarah back into reality. She instinctively backed up a few steps, turned toward Casey, and pointed her gun at him.

Casey convinced Chuck to help diffuse the bomb and the three of them took off for the hotel.

Once inside Chuck defied Casey's orders to stay in the lobby and led them through the hotel to the conference room by the fastest route possible.

When they entered, Chuck quickly scanned the room for and found the bomb. It was attached to a lap top with a countdown timer on the screen. Sarah asked Chuck if there was anything he remembered about the bomb when she and Casey's limited knowledge about bombs did not come up with a solution.

Chuck's phone rang at that moment. He answered it, took a few steps back, leaving Sarah and Casey to try to come up with a solution. When he hung up the phone, he bent down between Sarah and Casey, "Okay, okay. I have an idea." Chuck told them.

Casey reached out, tried to stop him with another wisecrack about the X-Box and X-Men that Sarah didn't get.

Chuck explained what the computer was and what he could do. He turned to Sarah, "I think I can do this. I can do this, please."

Sarah took a deep breath. From somewhere inside her a voice told her he could do it. Trust him. Maybe it was from what he had shown her on their "date." Maybe it was that he did not wait in the lobby but come with her to the bomb. Whatever the reason, she decided to trust him.

"He's our best shot." She told Casey.

Casey let go of his hand and Chuck began to work on the computer while the timer continued to count down. When it got under three seconds Sarah had a momentary twinge of doubt. But the virus he searched for worked its magic, fried the laptop, and shut it off.

She smiled at him, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You did it."

After the realization that he could have been wrong, Sarah saw Chuck's giddy excitement turn to an expression of fear. She reached down, putting her hand on his shoulder to reassure him, as he was still kneeling on the ground.

* * *

**The Beach**

**Burbank**

She had stopped watching him, for how long, she didn't know. The darkness of the night had been replaced with the light from the sunrise.

It was a new day. Could it be a new beginning? Was Graham wrong about Chuck? Was he really just a nice, regular, nerdy guy?

_Do what it takes. I can't. Not with this guy._

Then it hit her.

_I will do what it takes. I will do whatever needs to be done to protect him from anything and anyone. He deserves that. I will do it, not for the CIA, and not because Graham told me too. I will do it for the life I will never get to live. I will do it for him, for Chuck._

She stood up, took a deep breath to strengthen her resolve, grabbed her boots - which she did not remember taking off - and walked up next to him.

"How long you been here?" Chuck asked her.

"All night." Sarah replied, and then sat down next to him.

"There's nowhere I can run, is there?"

"Not from us." _I don't want you to run from me. If you do, I can't keep you safe._

Sarah looked at him and wondered what he was thinking as he stared out into the water.

"Talk to me, Chuck." She told him gently.

"Yesterday, I was making eleven bucks an hour fixing computers. Now I have one in my brain and I can't figure out why Bryce did this, why he chose me." He paused, turned his head and looked at her. "What are you going to do with me?"

"For now, you go back to your own life. We'll protect you and you'll work with us." _You have nothing to fear. I will to whatever it takes to do my job. I always do._

"And my sister, my friends; are they in danger?" He questioned.

"Tell them nothing to keep them safe." Sarah looked out into the water, paused, and then looked back to Chuck. "I need you to do one thing for me."

"Yeah."

Her eyes locked onto him. With all the sincerity and hope she had, she said softly, "Trust me, Chuck."

He turned to face her and looked into her eyes. They held the same smile he saw at the restaurant. He gave her a smile and a look of trust.

They held the look for several long seconds. Their hearts holding a deep and meaningful conversation through their eyes that neither one of them was ready to hear.

Sarah finally looked away, breaking the inaudible conversation, and then gently leaned her shoulder into his, subtly trying to communicate that this was the closest thing they were both going to get to normal for a very long time, but somehow… that was completely okay with her.

* * *

**Sarah's Apartment**

**Early morning**

Chuck was her mission now, her asset. She could not afford the luxury of feelings for they would only get her into trouble and cause her pain. She knew she had to push them down.

_Spies do not show emotion. _She thought to herself. _My feelings practically shot me last time and I will not allow that happen again._

Sarah felt exhausted. She hadn't had much sleep over the past several days and she needed to get some rest. She climbed into bed, but something gnawed at her. She picked up her phone and cycled through the pictures of her and Bryce during their time in Cabo. The happiness that she saw in those photos was now marred with the fact that he had betrayed her. His betrayal had been two fold in her eyes, both professional and personal. Yet she desperately tried to hold on to the way she had felt about him, but it was a war with herself that she could not win.

_He betrayed me. Did I really care for a man that would betray his partner? What we had was good; was real? It had to be__**. **__Will I ever find something like that again? Will I ever find something real?_

Those questions still haunted her. Just when she had thought she had pushed them away, they came running back to her.

A few tear drops fell rolled gently down her cheeks.

_Be strong. He is gone. And at the end of the day you are all you have left._

She wiped the tears away and fell back into her bed, wishing more than anything to just fade away with the ounce of humanity still left within her.


	2. Who Can I Trust?

I wanted to post this Sunday or Monday but the temps around here got to 40 below so I didn't have the time to venture out. I hope you can forgive me for that. I would like to thank you for the feedback I got with the first chapter. My favorite part of posting a chapter is to see what people liked and disliked about it. For those of you who read it but didn't leave a comment I encourage you to leave a little comment even if it's just to say you enjoyed it.

I would like to thank Aoife and Niall for your help in polishing some of the rough edges.

This Chapter is based on the episode entitled: Chuck vs. The Helicopter

* * *

**Sarah's Apartment**

_Can I trust Casey? He wanted to kill Chuck but I stopped him._

That thought raced through Sarah's mind. She was there to protect him but Casey was there as well, and would always be. He had been assigned to watch over him inside the Buy More while he worked and Sarah was to monitor the perimeter from the Wienerlicious.

Sarah stood in front of the mirror and modeled, for herself, her work outfit. _These are ridiculous! How am I supposed to keep him safe if I'm all the way across the street in his stupid outfit? How do I know I can trust Casey?_

She sighed as she grabbed her keys and headed out the door, for her shift.

* * *

**The Wienerlicious**

**Later that Morning**

Sarah waved her hands in the air and tried to fan the smoke away. _I can't believe they thought this would be a good cover._

"Sarah, what are you doing here?" Chuck asked her.

Sarah turned around and saw Chuck walking up to the counter. "I work here now, Chuck." She turned back around and continued to fan the smoke away. She grabbed the basket, set it down on the counter, and sighed in disgust. "Damn. I burned another batch."

"Why are you working here?"

Sarah held the basket in one hand, tongs in the other, and looked at him. "Surveillance." She used the tongs to pick up the burnt corn dogs and threw them down into the trash can. "I can monitor the Buy More from here while you work."

She saw that he had a confused look on his face. "It's just a cover." _Thank God it's only going to be a for a few days._

Chuck rambled a response that was filled with chatter about covers, Sarah making gourmet wieners, the CIA, Casey not being a good salesman, government secrets, national security, and a question about having a plan.

_He's kind of cute when he rambles nervously._

Sarah smiled at him. "We have a plan," she told him and made a date for that evening to discuss it further.

* * *

**The Date**

**Later that evening**

Sarah drove to his house, picked him up and took him to the Buy More. As they made their way in Sarah explained that he was meeting a doctor who could help him.

She led him to the home theater room and told him that what he would need to do would be simple. However, Casey sarcastically made a comment that Chuck would find a way to screw it up. Sarah didn't know why but that comment irritated her, though she tried not to show it.

_Wow. I am glad this won't last. Working with Casey would be challenging, especially if he would make comments like that all the time._

As soon as the doctor was ready, they started the test. Chuck effortlessly rattled off the secrets that were encoded into the pictures. Sarah and Casey looked at each other, neither one of them gave any indication as to their own thoughts.

"Your patient is phenomenal. We never imagined this." Dr. Zarnow shook his head in disbelief.

"What didn't you imagine?" Sarah questioned.

"One person seeing all the Intersect images. All our secrets in one mind." Dr. Zarnow responded.

Sarah didn't know what to think. _Bryce stole everything. But he gave it to Chuck? Why him? He's just a normal guy, right? Or did he play me at the beach? No, it's pretty clear that he's a normal guy and doesn't want this._

She really didn't believe Chuck was a spy, or Bryce's partner for that matter. However, her world was filled with deceit and lies and sometimes those lies were built on top of one another.

"Can you remove the secrets, doctor?" Casey asked.

"Yes...I think I can." Zarnow replied.

Sarah suddenly felt saddened and worried. _Looks like my time here will be short. But what are they going to do with Chuck when the Intersect is taken out. I know how they operate. Burning him is not protecting him. I can't do that._

She looked at Casey and let out an inaudible sigh.

After the test was over and Dr. Zarnow had left, Sarah took Chuck to her car and drove him back to his apartment. He was quiet most of the way home but it was obvious to her that it was a nervous silence.

They pulled up out front of his apartment complex and before he got out he finally spoke. "So I pass the test?" He asked nervously.

Sarah tried to reassure him. "You did great, Chuck." She smiled.

"And this doctor guy, he can fix me or...?"

"Uh, he's hopeful. Yeah." Sarah nodded her head.

Chuck nodded back, unbuckled his seat belt, opened the car door and started to get out. He stopped and turned to face her, "Oh, oh, oh, I almost forgot. Dinner tomorrow night with my sister and her boyfriend, Captain Awesome. She really wanted to meet you, so..."

_Not really a good idea to get entrenched into his life. I can't. I shouldn't. I will be gone after the doctor removes the Intersect. I won't._

"Oh, okay. Well, that's a good idea." Sarah nodded and smiled.

Before she could say any more Chuck continued, "Meeting the family's kind of a big step, if our relationship were remotely real."

Chuck laughed nervously. "So if this whole examination thing works out, then I guess we're through, huh?"

"Uh, yeah. Mm-hm." Sarah just shook her head in agreement. _But I will always remember you, Chuck._

Chuck said good night, got out of the car and shut the door. But before he walked away he knelt down outside of the car, looked at her through the window and added, "Oh, and just so you know, tonight was probably the best only second date I've been on in years."

_Sorry, Chuck. I can't do anything else, even if I want to._

If Sarah was honest with herself she was a mix of emotions, all competing for her allegiance. Attraction to him and desire for him. There was also a yearning for the real things he appeared to have. It was the things that her career kept her from. Family and friends. Someone to depend on. A safety net to catch her when she would fall.

He flashed that big goofy grin of his, then stood up and walked back to his home. When he was out of sight Sarah let out a sigh of disappointment and frustration. She wanted a change in her life but didn't know what kind of change or how to get it, but looking at him deepened her desire for a change.

* * *

**Crash Site**

**Following morning**

Sarah walked about the wreckage, looking for any clues as to who might have done this, and how the explosion was triggered. Zarnow's body wasn't at the wreckage, which Sarah thought was very suspicious. _Something doesn't add up here. Something is off._

When she had pulled up to the scene Casey had been on the phone, which didn't seem out of place. But then underneath a hub cap Sarah found an NSA incinerator. _Casey probably did this. I knew I couldn't trust him. He can't know I found this._

She grabbed the device, put it in her pocket and walked up to Casey. "Well no sign of anything here." She feigned.

Casey looked at her suspiciously. "We're sending the good doctor home in an ash tray." He quipped.

"Okay, well, I've got hot dogs to fry." Sarah told him.

"And I've got toasters to sell." Casey responded.

They both eyed each other suspiciously for a few brief moments before Sarah turned and walked toward her car. She got in, put the device in a plastic bag, set it on a newspaper that had Bryce's picture on it, and drove away.

* * *

**The Wienerlicious**

**Later that day**

Chuck walked to the counter with a concerned look on his face.

"So, Chuck, no private meetings with Casey." She said seriously.

"What's with you guys?" Chuck questioned her.

"Did he tell you the same thing? Of course he did." Sarah answered her own question.

"Hold on a second. Is something wrong?" Chuck asked.

"The doctor from last night, he was killed in an explosion soon after he left us." Sarah explained.

"What? The doctor who was supposed to fix me?" He looked at her, shocked.

Sarah reached under the counter, grabbed a plastic bag and tossed it on to the counter. "Tell me what this is."

"A nasty..." Chuck paused. Sarah saw his eyes freeze and his head tilt down slightly. "NSA incinerator. Special issue. Designed to eliminate all biological threats."

_I was right. Casey was probably on the phone with his superiors when I pulled up to the wreckage._

Chuck began to freak out and got uncomfortable when she told him that Casey works for the NSA, that he's a killer, and that Chuck had to go back to work and play coy with Casey about know about the incinerator.

A few minutes after Chuck left, Casey entered the Wienerlicious and the two agents shared accusing glares. Sarah knew why he was here and she was not going anywhere. She had promised herself she would protect Chuck, and if that meant from Casey, so be it.

As Casey began to talk Sarah turned her back to him, walked toward the back counter, and picked up a few corn dog sticks. Casey explained that she was under arrest, so she spun around and threw one of the sticks at Casey. It hit the hand he used to draw his gun, which caused him to hesitate for a split second. That gave her enough time to roll over the counter and throw a few more sticks at him.

Casey had picked up a tray and used it to block the sticks with one hand while raising the gun around it with the other. Sarah promptly kicked it away and used her hand to discard the tray he had been using as a shield.

The two went toe to toe, exchanging punches and kicks. The melee included Casey using a plastic knife and Sarah the broken wooden shaft of a broom, until Sarah finally got the upper hand.

She crouched on top of the counter, knees bent and fists in front of her, watching Casey as he lay on the other side. She wasn't going to let him go but a group of kids walked in and distracted her. When she turned back around Casey was gone, out the back.

_He's not going to the Buy More to grab Chuck now. That would be to obvious. I will see Chuck in a few hours for dinner anyway._

* * *

**Sarah's Apartment**

**After the mission**

Sarah wished she had a punching bag, a treadmill, something, anything to help her burn off her anger. She thought back to dinner with his family. It was a total disaster.

**(...)**

**Bartowski Home**

**Dinner Party**

From the time he walked in to the apartment he had been a nervous wreck. And when Casey showed up, Sarah went into full blown protection mode.

When she finally got Chuck alone, after he ruined her soufflé, she discovered the reason for his nervousness. She explained to him that the diplomats she took out were actually assassins that where after her and that she did not kill Zarnow. Then without any hesitation or concern for his point of view she told him that her name wasn't Sarah. In the same breath that she told him she lied to him, she asked for his trust.

**(...)**

_I took time to make that soufflé so I would not come to the dinner empty handed and he killed it because he had the nerve to think I would poison them. What kind of person does he think I am? He believed Casey over me? Casey! He's a cold blooded killer, that's all. I saved him from Casey. I thought I could trust Chuck. I don't know if I can trust Casey._

She sighed. The more she thought about the evening, the more her anger lessened. _He did come back for me and capture the doctor. He did get me out of trouble so maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on him._

_**(...)**_

**Port of Los Angeles**

**Sometime after dinner**

The helicopter just landed. Sarah walked slowly toward Chuck, who had just got out and was dancing around and celebrating. Sarah, however, had an angry, agitated look on her face.

"Go team. Seriously, Sarah, up top on that one." Chuck raised his right hand high in the air indicating he wanted her to give him a high five. Sarah just stared at him. "Palms are a little sweaty."

"What the hell were you thinking?" She asked.

"Clammy hands, got it, no good." Chuck tried to diffuse her anger with a joke.

Sarah ignored his attempt at humor. "Chuck, the secrets that you know are incredibly important. You compromised everything when you stopped trusting me."

"And when you go out of the car." Casey chimed in.

Chuck's demeanor changed from excited jubilation to apologetic in an instant. "Listen, I'm sorry, okay?"

"No it is not okay." Sarah shook her head furiously in disapproval. "How could you think I was the double, huh? I am not Bryce. Bryce betrayed everything I believe in and if you ever accuse me of that again, I will walk away. Mission over. We all go back to Washington. And you do not want that to happen, Chuck. That, you should trust me on!"

Sarah immediately turned and walked away, her anger still burning inside her.

**(...)**

Sarah came to an understanding as she sat down on the edge of her bed. _I am going to have to amend my ways. CIA protocol will not work here. Not with Chuck. Chuck is different._

In Sarah's world, trust and belief were mutually exclusive - one was not built on the other. However she had not come to understand yet, that in Chuck's world the two couldn't be separated. Trust was built on belief, the faith that others had your best interest at heart, and that if you couldn't believe somebody, you couldn't trust them.

She thought back to their first date. Though it was fake, she had not been able to shake the experience of that night. Before the dance, the car chase, and the bomb diffusion, she had had a really great time. It had stirred emotions and feelings in her that she couldn't help. She was instantly drawn to him and attracted to him. She had felt some of those things with Bryce, but with Chuck it was different somehow. It was more intense. A deeper sense of affection, of attraction.

_He showed me who he really was. I need to do that for him. But I can't. I can't get involved in his life and I can't let me see who I am. He needs protection and I can't protect him if I get mixed up with him. Look at where getting involved with Bryce got me._

She sighed. She knew what she wanted to do but she was prevented from doing so. Yet she believed there was a middle ground to be had. What she could not foresee was that as she drew closer to the middle ground, the harder it would make it for her to not cross that fine line she would inevitably walk.

* * *

**Bryce's Funeral**

**The next day**

Sarah stood back away from the other guests that were seated near the casket. She did not want anyone to see her for fear that some enemy might recognize her as his partner.

Her head was down, out of respect for the person that was delivering the eulogy. She looked up and turned her head only to see Chuck standing by some trees behind the main seating area. Her gaze stayed on him for several long seconds. She wondered what he was thinking.

_Why is he in the back, away from everyone? Was Bryce's betrayal of him that bad? I guess he hurt both of us._

She saw Chuck start to raise his hand to say hi, and just the acknowledgement from him caused her lose control of her emotions. She quickly looked away and tears welled up in her eyes. Sarah stood up straight, trying not to let on to Chuck that this was hard for her.

Her gaze went to the casket. _Bryce is dead. My partner is dead and my new partner...my asset is here. I need to leave._

She turned and walked to her car and drove off.

* * *

**Wienerlicious**

Sarah was cleaning off a table when she heard the door open and Chuck's voice say knock, knock.

"Hey, Chuck." Sarah said.

"How is everything? I saw you at the funeral." Sincerity was in his voice.

_He really wants to know. Of course he does. That's the kind of guy I am working with now._

"Oh, uh, yeah, I had to go." Sarah tried to play off her presence there. "After everything he did, he was still my partner." Sarah tried not to show that she appreciated the gesture.

She made her way around the counter as Chuck spoke. "Look, I'm not accusing you of anything...today. Yesterday, yes, I may have laid in on a little thick with the accusing. But I'm really sorry about that."

Sarah looked at him and saw he was being honest.

"Instead of not trusting you I should've thanked you for saving my life and protecting the country." Chuck looked down at the counter she was standing behind. "And making really tasty gourmet wieners."

She smiled and gave a little laugh at the mention of gourmet wieners. _How does he do that? Gourmet wieners, really. How can he make me want to laugh?_

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." Her words to him were heartfelt and she really was sorry about doing that.

"It was our first fight." Chuck responded quickly, almost interrupting her. "It's a big step, if our relationship were remotely real."

Sarah saw a little bit of sadness as he implied their relationship was all fake. She tried to reassure him by telling him he was still the only Intersect, which meant that she wasn't going anywhere.

As they finished their conversation Ellie, Devon, and Morgan walked into the restaurant.

"Hi, hope we're not interrupting anything." Ellie said as Devon greeted them with a wave.

"Uh, by the way, I thought we'd give that dinner another shot, maybe here." Chuck told Sarah.

"We knew you'd forgive him." Morgan spoke at Sarah.

She laughed and looked at Chuck. _Intersect or not, of course I would forgive him. _"Right, and you realize you all have to eat my cooking." Sarah said with a huge smile.

As the three made come walking up to the counter Chuck made a funny goofy face at Sarah and she couldn't help but laugh and smile.

_This should go much better than the last dinner._


	3. A Slip of the Tongue

Thank you again for all your kind reviews and comments. I am on time this week as the temps are much warmer now.

I should note that of the first three this was the hardest one to write. I didn't know where I was going with this story yet, and she was separated from Chuck a lot in this one. It is more of a narrative then I wanted but you live and learn. Anyway I did my best and I hope you all will enjoy it.

A thanks goes out again to Aoife and Niall for helping me in getting my ideas in a readable format.

I do not own Chuck. The Events of this take place around Chuck vs. The Tango.

* * *

**A Slip of the Tongue**

**Buy More**

**Morning**

**Day One**

Sarah had collected the pictures from Beckman and Graham, slipped them into her purse, and walked into the Buy More. She stood on the tips of her toes near the entrance, looked around and waited, hoping he would see her.

She spotted him in front of the Nerd Herd desk with the same big goofy grin he wore when he showed up at her apartment the night of their first date. Seeing the excitement her mere presence caused gave her a reason to smile back as she stood there and waited for him to come to her.

"Hey," Chuck smiled.

"Hey," Sarah responded back gently.

"Give me a kiss." She looked up into his eyes.

"I'm sorry. What?" Chuck asked reluctantly.

Sarah tried to rationalize to herself the words she just spoke to him. "We've been on three dates, we have to sell it." She took a few steps closer and continued to gaze into his eyes. A gentle smile formed while she waited for his kiss.

Chuck looked around nervously, bent down and gave her a quick peck on her cheek.

Sarah was genuinely disappointed. "That's it?"

"I'm not really good with the PDA," he told her.

"Well, let's go somewhere more private." She reached down, gently grabbed his hand, "Shall we?" When she had him firmly in her grasp, she began to walk away. He naturally followed as she paraded him through the home electronics section, making sure that if anyone saw them it would be obvious what was happening.

They entered the home theater room and Sarah closed the curtains making sure no one would see what was actually going on. Soon after, Casey walked in and Chuck was shown the pictures Sarah had with her from Beckman and Graham. Her superiors wanted to know if the Intersect might recognize these people and they knew Sarah was the person to use to get Chuck to talk.

Chuck explained to Sarah and Casey the Intersect didn't have any intel on them. But when Jeff walked into the home theater room, Sarah recognized something had caused Chuck to flash and she questioned him about it. Chuck responded by asking them if the name La Ciudad meant anything to them, and that he was going to be at an art auction that was being held in town.

Sarah knew that Graham and Beckman needed to know this. Chuck left them at that point, saying that he needed to get back to work and fix some computers.

* * *

**Sarah's Apartment**

**That Evening**

Sarah and Casey had been briefed about the mission. She had taken the files back to her apartment to review them because she wanted to be sure to be at the top of her game, especially since her superiors wanted to put Chuck out into the field, at the urging of Casey.

When she finished going over the files she walked over to her apartment window, opened the blinds, and stared out into the darkened city night.

_Put him out into the field to test him? To see what he is capable of? Don't they care if he gets hurt?_The darkness seemed to creep through the window and into Sarah's thoughts.

_Of course they don't. He's not a person to them. He's just a conduit to information, a means to an end, an asset to be handled until he is of no more use. Is that really all Casey thinks he is? They're not around him as much as I am. He has real friends and a real family. What if something goes wrong and I can't protect him?_

Sarah took a deep breath and let a nervous sigh.

_I promised him he'd be safe, that I would protect him. He needs to be out of harm's way, to be safe. I need him to be safe. I need him to be safe for the life I gave up, for the sacrifice I made._

She thought back to the promise she made to herself a week earlier. A promise to protect him from anyone or anything. Anything included her world. A world of deceit, lies, and danger around every turn.

She closed the blinds, got ready for bed and slipped under her covers. She tossed and turned most of the night. Sleep came hard for her, as all she could think about were the ways this mission could go wrong. She was Sarah Walker after all, Langston's Wild Card Enforcer. She was called in to fix busted missions so she was well aware of how wrong missions could go, no matter how innocent they seemed.

Thoughts of the broken missions she had fixed were bounding around her mind until she exhausted herself and finally dozed off to sleep.

* * *

**Outside the Wienerlicious**

**The Next Day**

Sarah hadn't slept well the previous night and her alarm clock woke her up way too early. But she had a job to do, so she got up and got ready for her shift.

She made one quick stop at the Buy More, and walked in playing the happy girlfriend role the best she could while she waited for Chuck. Once Chuck was with her, the fake smile she had when she entered turned into a real good morning smile. The kind that comes from a real girlfriend that is excited and happy to see her boyfriend.

They walked hand in hand out of the Buy More, across the parking lots, over to the patio area outside of her work place. They made small talk and shared a few laughs while walking. Just being in his presence reinvigorated her, and woke her up better than any alarm ever could.

When they arrived at the Wienerlicious, they sat down outside underneath an umbrella shaded table and went over Chuck's role in the mission. If he was coming along she was going to prepare him the best she could.

"The idea with a cover is to keep it as simple as possible without revealing true personal detail. Any thoughts on a name?"

"Charles Carmichael? Simple, dignified," Chuck responded quickly.

"Easy to remember and not far off from-" Sarah started to say, but was interrupted before she could finish.

"Graduated with honors from Stanford, runs a successful software company, semi-retired, and is considering entering America's Cup."

Sarah looked up from refilling the napkin dispensers, to see that Chuck was staring off in a different direction. He seemed to be spitting out a well-rehearsed alter ego. "You've done this before?" She asked, smiling at him.

She saw him shift gears when she asked the question. He lowered his eyes and slightly slumped his shoulders before answering.

"Let's just say Mr Carmichael and I share a small kinship." He looked up at her again and she shot him a care to explain expression.

"How's that?" When she asked she felt his disappointment as he paused before he answered.

"When I first entered Stanford it's kind of where I envisioned myself being by now. Except for the sailing part, I don't know where that came from. But that's where most of my class already is."

"So what happened?" Sarah was curious about what had derailed his plans.

"My life took a little detour senior year when our old friend Bryce Larkin discovered stolen tests under my bed and was kind enough to alert administration."

Sarah unconsciously reacted when Chuck mentioned Bryce. She still wasn't sure how to feel about Bryce. She had a mix of feelings for him. He had betrayed her, professionally and personally, and now her current mission involved someone who had considered him a good friend.

"Did you steal the tests?"

"I thought it was kind of implied that I'm a decent person."

_You are, Chuck._

"Well, we all make mistakes." Sarah immediately thought of Bryce again after the words left her mouth.

"And I've made plenty. That just wasn't one of them. But then Bryce sent me a database of government secrets that are now locked in my brain, keeping me in a constant state of fear, danger, and anxiety. Sooo, I'd say we're even."

"Don't worry about tonight. You have no reason to be nervous. I'm not going to leave your side." She reached out and placed her hand on top of his, and made eye contact with him. She wanted to make it as clear as possible that she would be there to protect him.

"Me, nervous?"

"Your hand is a bit moist." Sarah couldn't help but smile a bit at his attempt to display no fear.

"It does that when I'm freakin' out," he responded.

_You have nothing to fear. I will protect you._

* * *

**Sarah's Apartment**

**After The Mission Was Completed**

**Day 3**

_Does he even realize what happened the last day or so? He helped us capture La Ciudad, a very well-connected and dangerous person. Sure she initially got away, but Chuck survived capture and allowed us to get a good look at her. Not bad for someone with no training or field experience._

Sarah stood in front of her bathroom mirror and finished making herself look presentable. She tried to hide the damage from her busted lip as best as possible, but it was obvious she had taken one in the mouth. She didn't know, let alone understand why, but she wanted to look good for Chuck without over doing it.

If she were honest with herself, she would see it was because he stirred up long-buried emotions. Feelings of true satisfaction, comfort, safety, love. The emotions he brought forth allowed her let loose a bit, slightly drop her spy guard down ever so slightly, not be so tense, and be herself, the real Sarah Walker. She could laugh, joke, and have a little fun, all the while feeling safe, feeling at home.

When Sarah had dropped by the Buy More to see how he was doing, after La Ciudad had finally been captured, Chuck asked her to join him for a celebratory dinner. She agreed to and they both thought it best to be seen by others as a dinner date and not the celebratory dinner it actually was.

* * *

**Bartowski Home**

**That Evening**

The dinner went off without a hitch. Morgan had invited himself over and the four of them shared laughs, jokes, and stories as well a wonderful meal. Morgan and Ellie were none the wiser as to the events that led up to this dinner date. Sarah made up a story about being clumsy and getting the busted lip that made Ellie chuckle.

Ellie. Sarah liked her, what she knew of her so far anyway. Sarah could picture Ellie as someone she would really become friends with, had she met Ellie under different circumstances. But as it stood, she was the sister of her cover boyfriend and that meant that Sarah had to try to avoid becoming friends with her.

Ellie suggested that Chuck walk Sarah to her car to say goodnight so they left and made their way through the courtyard. Sarah had to voice her thoughts about Chuck's role in the mission; that she was proud of him for surviving a dangerous situation and helping them get the intel that led to La Ciudad being captured.

"Congratulations on your first mission," Sarah said with a beaming smile. "You did really good Chuck."

"Stop it," Chuck replied. Sarah could hear the skepticism in his voice. "I'm not really a spy. Your computer ended up in the head of a guy who only knows how to fix them, nothing else."

"You survived a near death experience under the threat of torture and apprehended one of the world's most elusive killers." She stopped walking and turned to face him. "I'm not sure what you think spies do exactly but most of us would consider that a pretty good day." Sarah was trying to make eye contact with him, but Chuck just stared down avoiding her eyes while she talked.

"Okay, sure. So today I helped take down a major international arms dealer but tomorrow, I still got to go clock in at Buy More. What's the good of being a hero if nobody knows about it?" Chuck asked her, finally meeting her gaze.

"You know," she told him. But the look he gave her told her that wasn't good enough. _He needs to know that I'm proud of him, that I care about what he's doing._ "And so do I" Chuck gave her a half-smile that showed Sarah that he appreciated the gesture.

They shared a momentary pause of mutual understanding that this was the way it had to be for the foreseeable future.

Chuck broke the silence. "You know if we were really dating this would be the part where I would be forced to kiss you good night." Chuck started to smile.

"Forced?" She smiled back. "Would it be so bad?" The words rolled out of her with a hint of playfulness in her voice as she thought back to the peck on the cheek he gave her at the Buy More several days earlier.

"I'm sure I could suffer through it." He looked into her and she gave a hint of a smile.

She looked back at him, locking her eyes onto his. _Chuck, if only I could._ Her playful, light-hearted expression turned to one of quiet contemplation. "Me too," she returned softly, hoping Chuck would see what she desired.

She paused, held his gaze, and waited to see what he would do. When he didn't act right away, she decided that it was time to leave before things got out of hand. As she walked away she questioned herself. _Why did I do that? What is happening to me? What is this man doing to me?_

* * *

**Sarah's Apartment**

**Later that evening**

Sarah lay in her bed, staring through the darkness at the ceiling. She thought that it would be easy to fall asleep but the events in the courtyard kept her mind running, her heartbeat slightly elevated. No matter what she tried, she could not stop thinking about her words to Chuck, or the feelings that he kept stirring up.

_They told me, trained me, to be cautious__and__to avoid emotional entanglements. Yet every time I am near him, I..._

She stopped herself right there. She didn't want to follow that train of thought to its logical end. She couldn't. Deep down she knew the end point, but she wasn't ready for that, and wouldn't be ready for it for a long time.

_I can't continue to do this. I have to bury my feelings. I need to, in order to keep him safe. To make good on my promise to him. I cannot fail._


	4. Something Real: Lisa

Thank you again for the compliments. I have enjoyed seeing that you all like what I am trying to do. Of all the episodes of the first season, this one was my personal favorite. I hope I have done it justice.

As always thanks goes to Aolife and Niall for their help.

Events take place around Chuck vs. The Wookiee

* * *

**Something Real: Lisa**

**The Bartowski Home**

It had been a week since the team captured La Ciudad, and Sarah had been over to the Bartowski's twice. She called it "protecting her cover" but she knew better. She began to look forward to the dinners, the times she could hang out with Chuck and his friends and family. After a week of no missions she actively sought those times out, which is how she wound up at the Bartowski's. She had told Chuck that she had no plans so he invited her over to partake in the weekly Bartowski game night.

The night consisted of pizza, vegetarian, and a game of 'Know Ya!' which Sarah hadn't heard of. Sarah was usually very competitive and although she didn't win, she had a blast. She laughed, smiled, and flirted a lot. There was a sense of safety built into their home. Just being in his home and around Chuck, allowed her to drop her guard just a bit and not be an agent looking at everything and everyone, wondering what their motives were. In these situations she wanted to be his real girlfriend, with a new family to count on.

Sarah often thought of thanking Chuck for allowing her to be a part of what they had, but every time she tried she would try to suppress those feelings. Feelings will get you killed. Spies do not have them; her superiors drilled that into her head during training. But Sarah was not a normal spy. With every passing day she spent around Chuck, she found it harder and harder to resist his charm, to keep her growing feelings from bubbling to the surface.

The night was not all roses though. Despite all the laughs Sarah had learned one very important fact; how much this wonderful family despised her former partner, Bryce Larkin.

"Okay, most hated person ever?" Chuck read the card aloud. Sarah saw Chuck's smile disappear and his demeanor completely change.

"It's so easy," Morgan said.

"Total game, dude," Devon added.

Sarah looked around and wondered to herself _how do I not know this?_

"Harry Tang?" Sarah guessed.

"Harry Tang," Devon chuckled. "Come on."

"I don't know, I'm sorry." _Whatever this answer is, I need to store it away and remember it._

"It's okay, it's a stupid game." Chuck looked at Sarah who was looking down at her plate of pizza, making sure all the olives were off.

"Well, no, no, hold on a second. No, it's Bryce Larkin," Morgan stated.

At the mention of Bryce, Sarah looked up at Chuck to gauge his reaction. _Most hated person? Really?_

"How could you not know Bryce Larkin? Dude pretended to be his buddy, sexed up his girl and got him kicked out of Stanford. If Chuck is Solo, Larkin is his Fett," Morgan clarified.

Sarah was shocked by what she heard. She realized Morgan was telling the truth when she saw Chuck's reaction. _Maybe Bryce wasn't really the person I thought he was._

* * *

**Sarah**

**After Game Night**

As she drove back to her apartment, she reflected on the evening. She had thought she felt a presence around the outside of the Bartowski home but had quickly decided that if there was, it was not a threat to them.

But there was something else that gnawed at her. Enemy number one was the big reveal that evening. Sarah had gathered that he wasn't well liked, due to several passing comments by Morgan over the past few weeks, but it was made crystal clear that he was to be considered an enemy of the Bartowskis.

Chuck however had displayed a few more characteristics of his personality that Sarah found attractive. One was his constant concern for others and their feelings. This was demonstrated to her when he did not want to answer the question on the card. She had seen his reaction, how uncomfortable he had become, but the look he gave her in response told her something deeper was going on. Everybody else answered the question for him while he remained silent. She could see that he did not want to take about her former partner in front of her; that he didn't want to relive the past. She understood that, and for that she was extremely thankful he didn't say a word to her until they were alone in the courtyard.

The other thing she found attractive was that he was didn't really want to talk about sex. Sarah knew that he was attracted to her and most guys would do everything in their power to get her into their bed but Chuck, Chuck was different. He even offered to let her decide what their cover for that topic would be. As a result she saw him more akin to a gentlemen, the kind of person she had longed for during her extremely awkward and difficult adolescent years.

Sarah knew better than to get wrapped up in her assets life. But Chuck being the kind of man he was, was slowing wedging his way in, starting small cracks in her wall of defenses. The defenses she spent the better part of her adult life building so that she could do her job and be a part of this ruthless spy world that deep down, she wanted out of. But she didn't know she wanted out yet. That realization was still a few years off.

When she pulled into her parking space, she was struck by a thought. _I am a liar. That's all I'll ever be. I can't change that. It is required of me to do my job. That's why I lied to Chuck about Bryce. I had to. Bryce was a spy. But Chuck, Chuck is better than Bryce, a better man. He's better than me. All I am is a spy. That's all I will ever be._

She sighed, got out of the car and made her way back to her apartment. As she got ready for bed she saw that an intruder had entered her apartment and a brief mêlée ensued, which resulted in the unmasking of the intruder. It turned out to be Carina, who was only there to enlist Sarah's help in stealing a diamond.

After Carina left her apartment, Sarah called Graham, who told her he would run it by his people and that he would have more information in the morning. Sarah knew what kind of agent Carina was, that she was a great field agent but someone not to be trusted, especially not with Chuck.

_Chuck has to stay out of this. Carina is too much of a risk taker and I can't risk any harm coming to Chuck._

* * *

**The Next Morning**

Despite Sarah's warnings about Carina, Graham and Beckman decided that Chuck was to go and provide data about the security features surrounding the Alahi compound.

As Sarah and Carina discussed the mission at the Wienerlicious, Carina was already pushing Sarah's buttons. Carina didn't act all that surprised when Sarah told her that her cover was Chuck's girlfriend. She commented about being sorry about Bryce, who Carina knew was Sarah's real boyfriend, but then jabbed Sarah about spies dying being an occupational hazard.

Sarah knew that Carina had to be corralled, controlled as best she could. To keep an eye on her during the night, she set up a double date. Carina would go with Morgan while Chuck and Sarah would be there as the second couple.

* * *

**Sarah's Apartment**

**After the date**

Langston Graham had told Sarah that since this was her first assignment as a handler he wanted her to keep a video log of her experience. The contents would be seen only by him at the end of this assignment and that he would review it with her, to assess her strengths and weaknesses as a handler.

Sarah sat at the end of the bed, still wearing her clothes from the "cover date." She thought about the evening and was glad it was over. _Carina can be a real pain. Was she purposefully trying to compromise my cover with Chuck? Did she really have to insinuate that Bryce and I were more than partners? I told her that I was good here. And I meant it._

Sarah composed herself, reached around the tripod and turned the video camera on.

"Carina and I doubled with Morgan and Chuck to protect my cover." Sarah paused, and thought about how to word the next phrase. "Carina was too hands-on with Morgan. but it worked. My cover is still intact."

She stopped and turned off the camera. Despite knowing that she should have mentioned it, she left out that Chuck had accidentally blurted out Carina's whereabouts during her last mission. _It was a mistake and I talked to him about it the first chance I got. No need to make him look bad._

She got up off the end of the bed, put on her time attire and climbed into bed. After evenings with Chuck, she was usually able to fall asleep easily. Despite her concerns about Carina, that was exactly what happened.

* * *

**Sarah's Apartment**

**After the mission**

Sarah's shift at the Wienerlicious had ended early and Chuck was coming over later. She smelled like hot dogs and grease so she decided to shower. While in the shower she thought of Chuck and Bryce and that whole fiasco.

_If only I was honest with him after Game Night, none of the other stuff would have happened. But Bryce and I are cast from the same mold. We were like two peas in a pod. Chuck is better than us. I was only trying to protect him._

That, however, was a lie she was telling herself to justify what she had done. In reality she knew she had lied to him because she didn't want Chuck to think she was as bad as Bryce. He was, after all, the Bartowskis number one enemy. Sarah couldn't bear the thought of Chuck comparing her to Bryce.

_Then Carina told him that Bryce and I were together, like a couple. How could she do that? I remember the look on his face, like I had betrayed him. I will never forget that look. I never want to see that look again. __And then he saw right through me when I told him the reason I didn't tell him the truth about Bryce; because it was complicated. How does he know me so well already?_

She sighed and wished things could be different. She wished she had the time to heal from the deep wounds Bryce gave her. She wished that she could let Chuck inside her, to see the real Sarah, and see how much she wanted something real, something normal. But no matter how much wishing she did, she knew that this was the life she had chosen, and that Chuck and her could never have what she desperately desired.

_Bury them. Bury your feelings. They are of no use to you. _She had to tell herself that, to try to suppress her emotions, especially since Chuck was coming over later. _Why did I invite him over? I know better._

She exited the shower and changed into a comfortable shirt and jeans.

The Agency had finally delivered the laptop that Graham had promised her after Zarnow had been taken into custody. Its primary purpose was to allow Sarah to fill out the documents needed to file official reports. She would send a copy to Graham so he had a copy of all her field work.

However as Sarah slowly became more involved in the social side of her assignment, she began to want keepsakes for when the assignment was done. She created a folder to store miscellaneous pictures of Chuck and her; also of his family and friends.

She grabbed her laptop, plopped down on her bed and opened it. While she waited for it to load, she thought of Carina again. Sarah missed the CAT SQUAD and part of her longed for those days again. When things were going right, there was not a team in the world that had been better than those four women.

She shook that thought from her mind and worked on the report. Chuck would be there soon and she wanted to have it all finished before he arrived. After an hour or so the only detail she had left to include was that without any other option, Chuck had mailed the diamond to General Beckman using the Fed Ex postal system. Just the thought of that made Sarah smile.

_He definitely has the quick, on your toes thinking, to be a great spy. _She immediately rebuked herself for such a thought. _No! He needs to be protected from the dangers of my world, the spy world._

As she thought about Chuck, there came a knock at her door. _Wow, it's time already?_ She went to the door, opened it and there stood Chuck, pizza box in hand and a small brown paper bag.

She gave him a half-smile and leaned against the door as he reached inside her room, put down the bag on the small stand next to door, and opened the pizza box. "Vegetarian, no olives," he told her.

She looked down inside the box, then back up at him.

"It's the only thing I know about you that's true. You don't like olives," Chuck smiled.

The half-smile she had worn, morphed into one of her genuine thank you smiles.

_No one has ever cared to learn any small details about me without wanting to use them against me, to manipulate me. I know that this man will never do that._

"Thank you," Sarah said softly, making direct eye contact with him. "Come in."

She closed the door behind him as he took a step inside. They continued to walk toward the edge of her bed. Sarah pulled her arms in close to her side as he began talking.

"Look, I'm sorry about the beach. You're absolutely right, I shouldn't let my feelings affect the mission."

Sarah felt his eyes on her. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. _You shouldn't have to apologize to me. You are still new to this. I should be apologizing for yelling at you._

When they got to the end of the bed Sarah sat down on the edge while Chuck sat on a foot rest that had been pulled close to the end of the bed. The foot rest sat lower to the ground, which forced Chuck to have to look up at her.

"And um, if you and Bryce, if you had a thing well, that makes sense."

She looked down into those brown eyes of his, and fought the urge to look away. She had given him her eyes and as she listened she swore he saw right into her.

"He always got the great girls."

The sincerity of that statement showed in his eyes; it was written on his face. It was too much for her. Sarah closed her eyes. _Great girls? Me a great girl? How can he say that? He doesn't know me. I have offered him only teases and lies, and yet he thinks I am great? I am nothing but a liar and a spy._

She opened her eyes and looked back at him.

"I just wish I knew something real about you."

_No you don't. You don't really want to know me. Why would you?_

She didn't respond

"Can't you just tell me just one true thing?"

_I can't._

"Just one? Like where you grew up?"

He unknowingly hit a nerve. She tried to hold back her emotions but her countenance changed. Sadness crept on to her face as she thought of her mom, whom she could never see again. And her dad, whom she didn't know when she would see next.

"Or if that's too much, I get it, I get it, if that's too much, what's your name? What's your real name?"

She could no longer fight her feelings. She felt her eyes begin to moisten, her heart rate begin to pick up. She thought of the aliases she had gone by between life with her dad and the CIA. _My real name? I don't even know if I have one anymore._

Chuck's voice lowered to a volume a little louder than a whisper. "Middle name. What's your middle name? Can't you just tell me your middle name?" His voice trailed off.

She was looking into his eyes and saw something she hadn't seen before in any other man's eyes. A softness and tenderness that gently called out to her, 'you can trust me'. But still she made no response.

"I'm going to go get the napkins." He whispered, got up and went to do as he said.

Sarah continued to look at the spot where he had sat for a few moments before closing her eyes. The one thing her dad had let her do, was to keep her middle name. She had held on to that as a life line, something that always reminded her who she was.

She opened her eyes and whispered, "it's Lisa. My middle name is Lisa."

She closed her eyes after she had repeated her middle name, and fought back the tears.


	5. Mother's Day

Thank you once again for the comments on the previous chapter. It was important and I hope I captured that. This chapter is once again, a little more narrative than I would have liked but I think it works. I hope you like it and as always, let me know what you think.

Thanks again to Aolife and Naill for their help.

Events occur in Chuck vs. Sizzling Shrimp

* * *

**Mother's Day**

**Sarah's Apartment**

Sarah had stopped by the Buy More on her lunch break, something she had recently started to do more and more. She told herself the visits were to make sure he was doing okay. And while that was partly true, her real motivation was that she just wanted to see him, to be around him. His mere presence energized her, made her feel alive for the first time in a long time.

When she stopped in, Chuck had explained to her that Morgan was feeling neglected, so tonight was going to be a night devoted to his best friend. "An evening of Morgan" as Morgan called it.

Sarah stood in front of her suitcase, staring inside. _I really should unpack. I am going to be here in the assignment for a while. No. Don't think that. I can't think that. He's not an assignment. Well technically he is but..._she stopped that line of thought. She didn't want to follow it to it conclusion. She wasn't ready for where that was going.

_What am I going to wear? He didn't give me any advance notice. He did say to wear something casual. This ought to do._She reached inside and grabbed her outfit and got ready for the evening.

As she changed her thoughts went to Morgan. _An evening of Morgan? What exactly does that mean? He's sometimes funny, sometimes annoying. Odd, most of the time. But he is loyal, and like an Intersect on Chuck._

That had been something she picked up on rather quickly, and was reinforced, time and time again when he was around. Sarah envied Chuck for that. She hadn't ever had someone like that, someone who would drop everything and come to help her. She told herself that a few of her former partners were loyal but she knew better. Spies were in it for themselves, and the longer she stayed a spy, the more Sarah realized she didn't want to be a part of the world she was in. She didn't want to become someone who was only in it for herself, someone who stepped over others.

So this evening was going to be a mini vacation, a break from her spy life. She was determined to relax and enjoy this evening with Chuck and his best friend.

* * *

**The evening**

Sarah and Chuck were sitting on the couch waiting for Morgan. He had insisted that he meet them at the Bartowski home.

"So, 'an evening of Morgan'?" Sarah questioned Chuck.

"Yeah."

"What exactly does that mean?"

"I don't know. He's, uh, he didn't tell me. He's being secretive. Says he got a surprise for us." Chuck smiled reluctantly.

"Oh." Sarah tried to hide her nervousness. _I hate secrets._

"Look, Sarah, if you don't want to come..."

"No," Sarah interrupted him. "I need to be there." Chuck looked at her, confused. "Protection." She added.

"Right, right."

"Plus it'll be good for our cover." She smiled as the words rolled out easily.

"Right. Our cover." He smiled back at her.

Before anymore could be said, they were interrupted as Morgan came around the corner behind them and said, "Guys ready to go? Big evening, let's go."

**(...)**

Sarah was having fun. Though odd, Morgan turned out to be more fun and a lot less annoying when it was just Chuck and him. She enjoyed seeing Morgan and his best friend together. The playfulness and camaraderie that existed between those two, deepened her secret desire to find someone to have that kind of connection with.

Chuck showed a deep concern for Morgan's addiction, which Sarah thought was cute. She had been slightly concerned herself for Morgan until she realized it was a firework addiction, not one to be too concerned with.

The evening had just started, when it had to be cut short. While getting their dinner, sizzling shrimp from the Bamboo Dragon, Chuck had flashed on one of the female servers. The server turned out to be Mei-Ling Cho, a spy who was on American soil for the first time.

They deftly skipped out on the rest of the evening with Morgan. Sarah was uneasy about doing that, but she told herself that they needed to figure out what she was doing in LA. So Sarah and Casey contacted Graham and Beckman and decided a stake out was the best way to figure out what Mei-Ling was up to.

* * *

**The Stakeout**

**The Following Evening**

Sarah and Casey were all business during the stake-out, but Chuck was a different story. While waiting for Mei-Ling to leave the Bamboo Dragon, Chuck had taken the opportunity to call in a to-go order for Morgan.

Sarah couldn't help but be amused. _He truly is a unique individual._ That was one of the many reasons she was so attracted to Chuck. She had never met anyone like him before. Her dad tried the best he could and Sarah knew that, but just the way Chuck was always thinking about others surprised her.

When Mei-Ling finally exited the Bamboo Dragon, she hoped on her bike and followed Ben Lo Pan, who had just left a few moments earlier.

Casey followed Mei-Ling to Ben's hide-out. Chuck flashed on the pistols Mei-Ling was carrying and told Sarah and Casey that she was here to assassinate Ben. Casey told Chuck to pull the van around front, while Sarah and he went in to try to capture Mei-Ling.

Sarah followed Casey as they quietly tracked Cho inside, but were stopped by a small Asian man who guarded the entrance. The guard pulled a gun on them and had them face the wall. Sarah tried to explain that his boss was in danger, but he did not want to hear it. After seeing that the guard wouldn't listen to her, Sarah looked to Casey and gave him a subtle inconspicuous nod of the head.

Casey quickly reached behind him and grabbed the guard's gun hand. He spun around and punched, causing the guard to stagger backwards a few steps. Sarah pushed herself away from the wall, spun and kicked the guard in the stomach, causing him to keel over. Once exposed Sarah kicked up, hitting his head and knocking him to the ground.

The two spies entered the hide-out and Sarah saw Mei-Ling pull out her pistols. "Gun!" Sarah shouted.

Immediately gunfire rang out and people screamed and scrambled for cover. Sarah and Casey found refuge behind a couch that had been turned over in the chaos. "They think we're with her. No kill shots," Sarah advised Casey.

Casey grunted in disapproval. "I hate playing nice." He growled, aimed low and shot someone in the leg.

Sarah saw Mei-Ling rush out the door. _She can't get away. We need to get her._ Sarah and Casey slowly made their way out of the hide-out to the street where Chuck had parked the van.

"Federal agent. Drop your gun," Sarah barked out to Mei-Ling.

"No. No. No. Wait, wait, wait," Chuck stammered as Mei-Ling fled the scene.

Sarah ran to Chuck's side and asked if he was hurt. Chuck told her that he was fine and explained that Mei-Ling was here to rescue her brother, but that he had screwed up and helped Lo Pan get away.

* * *

**Sarah's Apartment**

**After the Stakeout**

Sarah sat in the chair gazing toward the window of her apartment in quiet contemplation. _I'm glad Casey is on our team. Our team? Who's the leader here? Does that even matter?_

She usually thought about Chuck, or her mom or dad. Sometimes she thought about that little girl, or Bryce; anyone else other than Casey. But tonight, for whatever reason, was different. _Maybe he's not a burn out. He's definitely not a double agent. He's had my back several times already. And he does what needs to be done to protect Chuck, though I could do better. I guess that means he is my new partner._That thought surprised her. _Maybe he'll be a better partner than Bryce. We'll see. He's still got a few things to prove to me._

Sarah was not yet ready to completely trust Casey. She knew the Intersect had driven the three of them together and forced them to become a team. Casey was a spy after all. He was completely capable of burning assets, and executing wash orders.

Her thoughts, like they did most evenings, turned to Chuck. She was glad her apartment wasn't under surveillance, because she let out a soft chuckle and said his name out loud. "Chuck." _Take out on a stake-out. Only Chuck._She shook her head in amused disbelief.

He wanted to help Mei-Ling. He made that very clear to her and she told him they would have more information in the morning. She didn't like what her superiors told her because she knew Chuck would protest.

Sarah sighed. _Tomorrow isn't going to be fun. He's not going to like what I have to tell him._

* * *

**Courtyard outside the Bartowski Home**

**The Next Morning**

Sarah listened as Casey gave Chuck the details of the intel they had gathered on Mei-Ling. She stepped in front of Chuck, and added a few more details about the situation. She continued slowly, concentrating more on making him look good, picking off loose strands of hair and lint from his white button up shirt and trying to tame his hair.

_I've seen him in a suit. He is handsome in one but even in his Buy More attire he's kind of cute._

She then locked arms with Chuck, lopped hers through his and let him escort her toward the courtyard exit. They stopped when Chuck started to protest the orders Casey told them they had.

As soon as Casey left Chuck dropped his arm down, turned to face Sarah and continued to protest. "Sarah, I screwed up, okay? It's my fault. Her brother's going to die and it's all my fault."

"No." Sarah tried to reassure him. "It's her fault. She went off grid and disobeyed orders coming here."

"But her superiors didn't even give her a choice. Come on." Chuck pleaded. "Sarah, I would've done the same thing if it was Ellie. I would've done the same minus the shooting-apart-the-club-part."

"I know how you feel. It was hard for me too when I first started. But the truth is we can't save everyone, Chuck." Sarah was trying to get her point across but didn't know if Chuck understood what she was trying to say.

She paused for a moment. That last statement brought back feelings she first had when she started in the CIA. She couldn't afford Chuck to see any kind of vulnerability, so she turned and left Chuck standing in the courtyard while she made her way her car.

She remembered why she had joined the CIA. She had wanted to make a difference, to save and protect others. There are times when she got to do that and those were the missions she really enjoyed. However, now it seemed to her that her superiors were just using her to control others, or cover their own asses. She didn't know how much longer she could take being manipulated. She needed someone to save her, and show her that spies can be good people.

* * *

**Casey's Apartment**

**Mission Prep**

Mei-Ling had infiltrated the Buy More, called Chuck, and waited for him in the back room near the storage cage. When Chuck informed Sarah and Casey that she had called him from inside the store they went searching for her while Chuck went to sign for some hard drives.

When they found her, she had Chuck at gun point. Chuck convinced Mei-Ling to defect in exchange for their help in rescuing her brother.

She let Chuck go and the three spies went back to Casey's apartment to figure out a plan of attack, while Chuck went home. Casey suggested that Chuck should be there helping them and despite her personal feelings, Sarah reluctantly agreed and Casey called him over.

Sarah listed to the brief phone interaction Casey had with Chuck. _Does he have to be so harsh? Why doesn't he just ask? If you just ask he would come._

When Chuck arrived, it was discovered that he was the only one that was familiar with the security cameras. Mei-Ling told him that he was now part of the mission and despite his initial resistance he agreed to come and help.

* * *

**The Mission**

Accessing the security camera feeds and gaining entrance to Lo Pan's home was easy enough. With Chuck monitoring the action from the van, the team quickly dispatched the men guarding him and made their way to his office.

Lo Pan was sitting at his desk reading a book when the three of them entered. Just when they were going to take him into custody, they heard the sound of guns being cocked and were surrounded by more of Ben's men.

Lo Pan wheeled up to Mei-Ling, had her brother thrown in front of her and proceeded to tell her that the Chinese government had just refused his last offer. The guards grabbed Casey and Sarah as Ben added that he was now hopeful he would be listened to now that he had a few American spies to barter with.

Mei-Ling, her brother, Casey, and Sarah were led outside toward a van that would take them to their final holding spot. Sarah imagined they would be taken to some sort of secret holding facility and her thoughts immediately went to Chuck. _He needs to leave. To get to safety. He can't follow us. He has to go home._

She looked toward Casey, who gave her a subtle nod. Sarah wrestled free from the guard that had a hold of her and took off running. She was quickly caught but she hoped she had made enough of a distraction to give Casey the time necessary to tell Chuck to go home.

The guards moved quickly to get the four of them inside the van and they took off. When they stepped out and were held to a walk-in storage pantry. Sarah recognized the place Ben had taken them as the Bamboo Dragon.

"All right, Casey. Any ideas?"

Casey looked around and grunted out a no.

Just as Casey answered her she heard the door open and saw Chuck standing there. She was about to say something to him but before she could he blurted out, "You can yell at me later."

The team found knives, cut their bonds and the spies took care of the bad guys when they came rushing back in.

* * *

**Bartowski Home**

**Next Evening (Mother's Day)**

Sarah pulled up to the curb, turned her car off and thought about Ellie and Chuck's family. She had tried to get out of coming but Ellie had persisted. She was insistent that Sarah be there for this important day/celebration. _I shouldn't be here. But I want to be here. Plus it's good for our cover._

Good for the cover. That was becoming a phrase she was using on herself more often when she wanted to rationalize spending time with Chuck outside of work. She couldn't see it yet, or maybe she didn't want to see it, but Chuck was slowly pulling her into his family. He was giving her something she never had and was strengthening the bond between the two of them, by sharing these family times and intimate family moments with her. Though it would break her heart if she had to leave him behind, she would always have these moments, the few honest hours each week she got to spend with him.

She got out of her car, made her way through the courtyard and knocked on their door. She stood there, nervously waiting for someone to answer. She fought the urge to run back to her car and drive back to her apartment.

Thus was Sarah Walker. A jumbled mess of emotions and feelings all fighting for her allegiance. She waited patiently and a smile escaped her lips when Chuck answered the door.

"Hey." Chuck smiled.

"Ellie invited me." Sarah stepped inside and waved at Ellie. "She, uh, insisted that I come." She deepened her smile as she tried to hide her nervousness.

Chuck closed the door behind her, took her coat and hung it on the rack mounted on the wall next to the door.

"So, uh, Mother's Day..." Sarah wondered.

"Yes, Mother's Day, that's right. You don't really know." Chuck turned toward her and swallowed hard.

Sarah sensed something wasn't right. Her heart broke for him as he told her that his mom left and that their dad was around but not really there. And Mother's Day was the day they celebrated how they learned to take care of themselves.

Ellie walked past them carrying a tray of cheese and crackers she had prepared, and with a huge grin added, "And rely on each other."

* * *

**Sarah's Apartment**

**After the Mother's Day celebration**

The rest of the evening had been filled with laughter and joy. Chuck, Ellie, and Morgan, all told stories from when they were younger, but Sarah deftly deflected any inquires about her past. How could she tell them about her past?

_I didn't want to lie to them. Not this time._

In the quietness of her own apartment she longed to see her mother. _Chuck doesn't know where his mother is and I can never ever see mine again._There was still pain from that decision. But it was the only way.

She didn't have time to dwell on that thought, because right before she was going to call it a night, Casey called her and told her she had a job to get done.


	6. Something Real: The Photo

Thank you, once again, for all your support. I appreciate the fact that you all are enjoying this. It really does bring a smile to my face.

As always, Aoife and Niall aided my efforts and made this readable.

These events take place around the episode entitled Chuck Sandworm

* * *

Something Real: The Photo

**Sarah's Apartment**

**What happened next**

She did not like what Casey told her, but she had a job to do. _If they think this will add an extra layer of protection, so be it._

Sarah sat on her bed and typed in 'Comic-Con images'. 48 million hits the screen read. _Wow! Hmm, what's her name? Leah?_

She tried another Google search, but before she could finish typing she found what she was looking for. _Princess Leia costume. Let's see. _Sarah clicked on the image. _Perfect._She put a link in her email to Washington and gave them specifics on how she wanted the picture to look.

_If they are going to make me do this, this is the least I can do. I hope he likes this._

* * *

**The Bartowski Home**

**A few days later**

Sarah had rushed over to Chuck's home. She was waiting for him in his bedroom when he walked in and closed the door as he entered.

He was worried that Laszlo knew who he was. Sarah tried to calm his nerves and told him that he did the right thing by calling her and that first thing in the morning, she would check in with him.

As she turned to leave, Chuck stopped her and asked if she could stay in his room for a while. The request to stay surprised her. His explanation was even stranger.

"Look, Awesome and Ellie think I'm kind of getting lucky in here and I wouldn't want to disappoint... them." Chuck looked awkwardly at her.

Sarah opened her mouth and tried to say something but no words came out. She was momentarily speechless. Just the idea of "getting lucky" with him stirred something within her. She wasn't sure she had ever felt what she was feeling at that moment. It was strange and exciting, awkward and exhilarating, all at the same time. Her senses were heightened.

She tried to push down whatever it was she felt as she looked at him, his eyes pleading with her to stay. "Oh, um..." she had trouble trying to string together a coherent thought. "Uh, how long do you want me to stay?"

"42 minutes and 15 seconds?" Chuck answered so quickly that she thought he was reading her mind.

She felt a lot less uncomfortable, but no less confused.

He replied back something about a band's first album and auditory aphrodisiacs.

She sat down on the edge of his bed as he put on some music she didn't recognize. _Aphrodisiac? Not ready and yet he's playing it for me?_

After starting the music he sat down next to her, lightly grazing her shoulder as he plopped down on the bed. Immediately a warm comforting sensation shot through her body and a small gentle smile briefly grew on her face. Between the music and touch, she wondered what it would be like to be with him. _His presence is comforting. _But because she hadn't experienced a moment like this before with him, she still felt a little awkward.

She usually liked silence but this was hard. She wanted to say something, anything, but when she tried to speak something inside stopped her.

"Why were you waiting in my room, anyway?"

"Well I wanted to surprise you." _That didn't come out right._ "Um..." she reached over and grabbed the picture that she had put into a frame.

"It's us at Comic-Con." She smiled and held it out from him to see. "What do you think?"

Chuck took it and looked at the picture.

_I hope you like it. It's as close to real as I can give you._

"It's -It's great. But we've never actually been to Comic-Con, have we?"

Sarah heard a hint of disappointment in his voice as she watched him stare at the picture. She felt his disappointment grow when he commented that they look like a real couple.

"Well, we are a real couple." Hearing herself say those words caused her heart to beat a little faster and caused her to smile. She was trying to get him to understand that in her eyes, in her world, they were a real couple. "We're just a different sort of couple."

"That we are," Chuck replied and a dose of longing lingered in Sarah's eyes.

* * *

**Sarah's Apartment**

**Later that evening**

Sarah hated that she had to plant that bug, but she told herself that it was necessary to protect him. _I made a promise to keep him safe. If we were dating then there would be pictures of us._

As she lay on her bed, she let out a deep sigh and let her frustrations dissipate with the sound of the music she had requested him to make. It was surprising to her that she actually enjoyed the music he played for her while she stayed in his bedroom. The music seemed to fit his personality. It relaxed her, and soon she had drifted off to a deep peaceful sleep.

* * *

**Bartowski Home**

A few days and one busted mission with Laszlo later, Sarah was directed down the hallway by Ellie. She had dropped by to see if he was alright, but Ellie needed to say something to Sarah.

"He's in his room, but you already know where that is." Ellie smiled.

Sarah smiled back, knowing what Ellie was implying.

"Sarah, wait. One more thing. Thank you."

Sarah was confused by the sincerity she heard in Ellie's voice. "For what?"

"Everything. I know you two haven't been together long but...but you are helping him move on to bigger and better things. He's got an interview today and he's got the confidence now to get it, thanks to you."

"Oh, I don't know about all that." Sarah responded. "Your brother's a really great guy."

"I know, but you've brought back his confidence. You should have seen him before he met you."

Sarah smiled. _That was the first time anyone has ever said that about me. I give him confidence. I just want him to look good to others. "_Thank you, Ellie. I'm going to wish him luck. You mind?"

Sarah turned to go but was stopped by Ellie's voice. "You're coming to the Halloween Party, right?"

"Oh, uh, I don't know."

"You should. Chuck would love for you to be here. And of course, I would too."

"I'll try." With those words she turned and headed down the hallway, opened his bedroom door, and walked right in. She didn't even think to knock.

When she saw him dressed up, a smile grew on her face and a fluttery feeling hit her. "Hey. You look nice." _Handsome, actually._

She shut the door behind her and walked over to him. He stood in front of the mirror trying to get his tie adjusted, as he told her how bad he felt about pooching the Laszlo incident the previous night.

Sarah reached up, fixed his tie and implied that the most important thing now was his job interview. Chuck responded by telling her he wasn't thinking about the Buy More promotion, but about how much of an idiot he was for believing Laszlo and that they had every right to bug his room.

She was taken aback when she heard those words. They were like a sucker punch to her gut, knocking the wind out of her. She didn't want to do it but knew it was part of the job.

_How did he know?_She looked around and saw the picture she had given him a few days earlier. It was in the trash can, glass shattered, and the picture ajar within the frame. _He knows I did it. I never intended to hurt him. Damn them for making me do it. I have to make this right._

"You know, just because you trust people, it doesn't make you an idiot." Remorse shone through her face. Those words brimmed with sincerity. She wasn't acting like his cover girlfriend. She was the girlfriend realizing her mistake and wanting to fix it.

Sarah tried to reassure him and make him understand that they were going to catch Laszlo, but that his concern should be for his interview. Before she left, she made sure to put her hand on top of his and wished him luck.

* * *

**Sarah and Casey**

Sarah sat in the passenger seat wondering about the invitation to the Halloween party. _Should I go? I shouldn't. But I am his girlfriend...cover girlfriend, and it would be good for our cover._

"Ever been to a Halloween Party, Casey?"

Casey glanced over at her from the driver's seat. "Ellie's offer?"

"How did...oh, right. The bug."

Casey sarcastically grunted and chuckled.

"You know what, never mind." There was a touch of anger in her voice. _It's not enough that he gives Chuck a hard time, now he's going to start with me._

They spent the next several minutes in silence until they found the GPS tracker under a big rig.

"Where's Laszlo?" Casey growled.

Before she could answer him her phone rang. Chuck told her Laszlo was heading toward the Santa Monica Pier and that he was going to blow it up.

* * *

**Santa Monica Pier**

"Down here, Casey," Sarah told him as her feet hit the sand. Sarah slowly made her way toward the pier where the locator said he was. Casey caught up with her as she turned the corner. Both agents went running, guns pointed out in front of them, towards where Chuck, Laszlo, and the Herder were.

"Chuck!" Sarah yelled out.

"Wait, wait! Stay back!" Chuck held up his hands to Sarah and Casey.

"Cut the red wire, Chuck!" Laszlo psychotically screamed at Chuck.

Sarah, who had been worried about the situations Chuck put himself in, felt her fears disappear when she saw Chuck calmly and confidently turn and look at Laszlo. Despite the chaos of the scene, she saw Ellie's words in action.

Chuck bent over and cut the wire. She saw that Laszlo's demeanour deflated.

Sarah and Casey swiftly approached Laszlo, put his arms behind his back, and cuffed him. _Why does he look so defeated if he told Chuck which wire to cut?_

She glanced down and quickly understood why. _He cut the green wire. How did he know Laszlo was lying to him? _Sarah was beginning to see that Chuck had a talent for reading people and situations. He was calm under pressure.

Sarah looked up and they gave each other a subtle nod. _You are a hero, Chuck._

* * *

**Bartowski Home**

**Halloween Party**

**Later that evening**

Sarah was dressed in the costume she bought several days earlier. She never actually thought she would have the opportunity to wear it. However she bought it anyway, knowing that if she did get a chance to wear it, that Chuck would like it.

She walked toward the courtyard and heard music, laughing, and felt the electricity in the air. It was a fun, happening place to be.

"Worm, worm, worm!" was being shouted by several people as Sarah entered the courtyard. She spotted a big brownish, tan tube with two sets of feet moving it around. _That's probably the costume._

She started toward Chuck as he took his head out of the costume and started talking to his sister.

"How did it go?" Ellie inquired.

"Uh, the short version is that I didn't get the job," Chuck told her.

"What?" Ellie was stunned.

"I kind of skipped out on the interview," he tried to explain.

_He needs to look as good to his sister as I know he is._

"It was my fault." Sarah looked at Chuck. "I, uh, I had a personal emergency and Chuck really came through." Sarah couldn't help but smile as she spoke honestly about him to Ellie. "He probably wouldn't admit it, but your brother is kind of a hero."

Chuck and Sarah smiled at each other. Her words rang out with truth and adoration.

Sarah was too busy smiling at Chuck to notice Ellie's reaction. Ellie saw the truth. It was written all over their faces. These two were in love with each other.

Chuck disappeared into his costume while Sarah and Ellie smiled at each other. Sarah knew she had done the right thing. As much as she hating lying to Ellie, this lie was spoken with sincerity behind it. She couldn't tell Ellie what he had really done. But that didn't change the fact that Chuck was a hero. And Ellie needed to know that.

When Chuck emerged from the costume Sarah reached out, gently grabbed his hand, and told him there was something she wanted to do for him. She led him to his bedroom and let go of his hand when they walked inside.

"So, uh, the costume?"

"Well, the CIA can make anything." Sarah grinned. She couldn't bring herself to tell him that she had bought it. She didn't want to ruin the moment. She could see that he liked it. And why wouldn't he? It was the same outfit she had linked to Washington and she looked stunning in it.

Sarah took her camera from her purse, turned it on, and stood next to Chuck.

"What are you...? What are you doing?"

Sarah told him to smile and held the camera up. Chuck turned, looked at her, and she gave him a playful shoulder bump. She reiterated that she wanted him to smile.

When both of them were looking up into the camera, smiling, she took the picture. Sarah turned and faced him after she checked the picture. "I, uh - I wanted to give you a new photo of us, and I figured it should be something real." Her playful smile was replaced now with a look of longing.

Morgan came to the window and interrupted the sweet moment. He told them that the party goers were calling for the worm.

Sarah gave Chuck one last smile and told him she would see him outside.

* * *

**Sarah's Apartment**

**After the party**

The party had been fun. She had attracted a lot of attention with her costume. The nerds especially fawned over her. She liked the attention, but what was more appealing to her was that she was Chuck's. Deep down she knew it already, but just couldn't come to grips with that yet. Even so they all could try to win her over, but none of them could ever compare to Chuck.

She replayed the conversation over again. _Your brother wouldn't admit it but he's a hero. He certainly is._

Chuck's words several weeks ago echoed inside her again. "What good is being a hero if nobody know about it?"

Her response was as clear to her now as it was then. "You know. And so do I."

_He definitely is a hero. This life was thrust upon him. He does things I know he doesn't want to do but that need to be done. He's ten times the man Bryce was._

She didn't know where that come from. She shuddered at the thought. _I trusted him, cared for him._ She didn't know why, but she still had a twinge of emotion for him.

Sarah reached over to turned the music player on, and let the music sink in. She lay back, closed her eyes, and let the words lead her to a deep, peaceful sleep.


	7. Redemption?

Thank you once again everyone for your comments. I tried to do something different with this one. I wondered how Sarah was effected by the events in this episode. Like always thanks goes to Aoife and Naill for their help.

These events take place during Chuck vs. the Alma Mater

* * *

**Redemption?**

**On the road**

Casey had insisted that he drive and Sarah didn't want to argue, so she let him. Chuck, who talked all the way up to Stanford, had dozed off in the back seat. Sarah and Casey didn't talk much unless they were discussing a mission, and neither of them had shown the desire to talk once they started the trip back to Burbank.

That left Sarah with her thoughts, which were a jumbled mess. She had rolled down the window, chicken-winged her elbow so that it rested against the open window and stared at the passing scenery. She thought about the events that led them to Stanford, Chuck's alma mater.

One of Chuck's old professors had dropped off grid with a very important piece of intel that he had copied on to a disk. Then when Sarah, Casey, and Chuck went searching for him. he had given Chuck a set of numbers before he was shot by a foreign spy. Though the numbers didn't make sense at first, Chuck soon realized that they were for a library book, probably marking the spot where Bryce and the professor passed intel back and forth.

_He figured it out. I don't know how but Chuck did it._She thought back to the conversation she had with him a few days after they first met. "So, Chuck, are you ready?" _He was definitely ready. He is a hero. I asked him to be one and that is what he is. But he is not just a hero. He is so much more than that._

A gentle smile rolled across her face as she thought about their mission briefing. _He is funny too. He always makes me laugh. The General Beckman comment and the way he tried to back track._"That new high-def sure shows every wrinkle. What? Twinkle. Every twinkle in her eye. Eyes."

She felt sorry for him. He had a connection to that professor; an unhappy connection. She recalled how Chuck's body stiffened, and how the pain, hurt, and betrayal etched his voice. Despite all of that, he had been able to keep his cool at first. Then Beckman and Graham kept coming at him until he did the only thing he knew how to do. State the obvious, apologetically say no, and walk away.

_Despite his personal feelings, he came with us anyway. This man does things that he has no desire to do, just to help. I don't know why he does them, but he does._

Sarah sighed, still staring out the window. _Then when he is about to get answers from the professor about why he is in the Intersect, the professor is shot in the back. He can't catch a break._

She knew it would go against protocol but after what he had done, Sarah figured he deserved answers. More important to her was the idea that if she could find answers for him, then that could be a real gift from her to him. It would be something honest and true; something tangible instead of those moments of heartfelt emotion, followed by the inevitable side-stepping and back-tracking that would occur afterwards. _When I find out, I will tell him._

**(...)**

They were only about half way back, which left Sarah dreading where her mind would go next. She didn't want to think about high school or college. She had told herself that some things were better left dead and buried, but this mission had stirred those feelings afresh.

She glanced over at Casey. He was stone faced and staring at the road. She didn't need to look behind her to know that Chuck was still sleeping. She remembered how the exhaustion would inevitably set in after a dangerous encounter or mission, and the adrenaline wore off during her CIA training. Training was different, however. At first they let her sleep. But then about half way through her first year, they started walking her up and training her to be able to function and operate effectively under different levels of exhaustion.

"You are to be combat ready at all times," they drilled into her. "Always be aware of your surroundings." "Never get comfortable." Trust no one." "Always have someone to cover your back."

This, however, was a controlled situation. Chuck was in the back resting and with Casey at the wheel, her thoughts turned back to the rest of the mission.

**(...)**

**Stanford University**

What greater way to preserve her cover as a girlfriend then to attend a game with Ellie and Awesome? She silently followed him around the campus, making sure to be within ear shot of Chuck in case he started talking to her. She paid Casey no attention as she figured he would find a use for himself, protecting Chuck however he figured was best.

As she walked with Chuck, she remembered what college was like. She had used that opportunity to make a fresh start, using the name Graham had suggested for her, Sarah Walker. Like getting a new identity with her dad, she kept Lisa as her middle name. She wanted a reminder of who she was, something to hold on to, for better or worse. She did not want to forget about her dad.

People were throwing footballs and frisbees around, kicking soccer balls back and forth, and shooting basketballs on the outdoor courts. Music was everywhere. In some spots she could hear two different sounds mixing and blurring together, as if they were competing for the same air space. The same air that smelled of grilled food and alcohol.

"This is really freakin' me out. It's like nothing has changed." Sarah sensed the nervousness in his voice and felt the tension.

"It's that good or bad?" Sarah asked, wanting to help Chuck through this painful memory.

"It's, uh...it's, you know-Yeah, it's-Yeah," he responded, still nervous.

Sarah caught a glimpse of Ellie with a huge smile on her face. _She is really enjoying this._

"Woo! Go Bruins, huh?" Devon popped out from behind Ellie and quickly under handed a football into Chuck's gut.

Sarah turned to Chuck, smiled, and gave him a subtle wink as she moved in closer to him.

Devon then, bent down, picked up Ellie at the waist, flung her over one of his shoulders, and spun her around a few times. Ellie let loose a playful girlish yelp, "Devon, put me down! Put me down! Stop it!"

Sarah looked at them with pure amusement. A huge smile covered her face. She enjoyed these times with Chuck's family. Her life was so full of deceit, misdirection and lies. The honesty of these moments were filling in the void that her decision to go with her dad as a young child had created.

"You ladies ready to rock?" Devon asked them as he put Ellie back down to the ground.

"Yeah when you put it that way, maybe not," Chuck responded as Devon grabbed the football Chuck was holding, slapped his chest and took off running.

Just as Devon raced off, a couple of shirtless students walked by. One was wearing a huge yellow cowboy hat and was carrying a grill, while the other one had slung a bag of charcoal over his shoulders.

"Uh, you wanna meet us at the stadium?" Ellie asked them.

"Yeah. I'm gonna take Sarah for the Chuck Bartowski memorial tour."

_Memorial tour? I guess this was a lot worse than I thought it was._

After Casey joined them, Chuck pointed toward the library and started to walk toward it. Sarah followed close behind him, but after several steps his paced slowed until he stopped completely. _Something isn't right. It's okay, Chuck. I'm here._

Chuck just stared straight ahead, his lingering gaze revealed just how much this hurt. That prompted Sarah to ask why he had stopped.

Chuck told her that this place was somewhere that he had a lot of fun, but now it was just a reminder of the worst day of his life.

_I understand, Chuck. I can never go back to...that place now. Not after what Bryce did to me._She didn't even allow herself to speak the place in her thoughts.

Chuck continued by telling her that hearing Ellie's voice when he told her he was coming home was a little too much to take in. Not to mention packing up this things and leaving, while Bryce just stood there and did nothing. At the mention of his name, Sarah looked away from Chuck and down at the ground. She paused for a moment when he stopped talking and thought about his words.

"Why do you think Bryce betrayed you?" Under different circumstances, her question might have been her way of trying to work through Bryce's betrayal of her as well as trying to help him. However she wasn't thinking about that now. All she wanted to do was to help Chuck though this rough part of the mission.

"I don't know. He's had four years to call and set the record straight. And now that he's gone..." Chuck paused and Sarah looked back up at him. He was still staring straight ahead looking at the library. "You know what? Forget it. Bryce has betrayed a lot of people, hasn't he?" Chuck turned and looked at Sarah momentarily, then started walking toward the library.

"Roger that," echoed Casey.

**(...)**

**Back in the van**

Sarah closed her eyes. It still hurt. _Why did he have to bring up Bryce?_ Chuck didn't know it, but that one simple comment hit home. He didn't realize it, but it had stung her. _Why do I still feel this way? I cared for him, yes. He was my partner, wasn't he? But partners don't betray each other, they have each other's backs._That idea strengthened her resolve. _Chuck has the disk and he will want to watch the video of his interview. He will. He deserves to know._She smiled again. _After all, he did save us._

**(...)**

**The rest of the mission**

**Stanford University**

They had made their way to the library and found the spot where the book was supposed to be. However the book itself wasn't there. But after a momentary feeling of deflation, Chuck figured out the book must have been used to mark the spot where the professor and Bryce could pass intel back and forth without anyone else knowing. He reached up to feel the underside of the top bookshelf and found a small hidden compartment. Inside, he found a disk. It was the intel Graham and Beckman had tasked the team to retrieve.

Their celebratory moment was short-lived as Sarah saw Magnus, the foreign spy, and his men at the other end of the bookcase. Sarah told Chuck to run out the back while she and Casey pursued the bad guys. That chase didn't last long as Sarah and Casey lost them around the second corner they turned.

Sarah knew she had to find Chuck and figured he went back to the Quad, the area Ellie and Devon were partying before the game.

It was Casey who found Chuck crawling on all fours. He lifted him to his feet before he elbowed one of the bad guys in the face as he approached from behind. With the bad buy knocked out on the ground, the three of them took off running. Sarah led them back into a building, twisting and turning down a few hallways, until she found one that wasn't locked. When they were all inside, Sarah poked her head out just enough to look both directions. Chuck and Casey did the same thing.

"We're safe for now," Sarah told the guys.

"I need to see what's on this disk," Chuck told his handlers walking towards a desktop computer.

Sarah turned and walked hurriedly over to him. "Hey, Chuck. That's top-secret."

"Yeah, well, so am I."

Sarah paused for a moment. Under different circumstances she would have smiled, probably even laughed playfully at his comment. But instead she just looked at him and let him finish talking.

"There could be answers on this disk about why I'm in the Intersect."

For the first time since she had been assigned to him, she didn't know what to say. She turned to Casey for help but he just nodded his head and stayed near the door, guarding the entrance. Chuck opened the CD Rom drive, put the disc in, and allowed the data to load. The screen came to life and displayed some sort of spread sheet complete with names, dates, file size, and file type.

"That's testing data," Sarah said out loud.

"And videotaped interviews. These are all just students." Chuck looked a little confused.

"Exactly. Students that were recruited into the CIA by Fleming. Ten year's worth. It's all their current information." Sarah knew immediately where this was heading.

Casey walked over and looked at the screen. "No wonder Magnus wanted it so badly. Foreign governments would pay a fortune for all that!"

"Look at this right next to 2002. Bryce Larkin. Bryce joined the CIA our junior year?" Sarah heard the mixed emotions spill out of Chuck's voice.

"That's enough. Now we know what he's after," Casey told them.

"No, no, no, wait, that's me. I'm in here too."

Sarah turned to Casey as she wondered, _they tried to recruit him? But he doesn't remember that? How could he not remember?_Sarah looked back to Chuck and told him not to click it.

"I never applied to be in the CIA."

Just as Chuck said those words, the door opened. Sarah turned her head and immediately heard the sound of gunfire and glass shattering. "Chuck, get down!" she yelled out.

The rush of adrenaline caused the next few minutes to blur together. What she could recall was Casey shooting a beaker, causing just enough of a distraction for Chuck to make it out of the room in one piece. Sarah and Casey continued to fire shots, but both were quickly running out of bullets. She ran through two complete mags and wasn't sure what she had left in the current one. When there was a momentary pause in the action, they checked their ammunition. _Do or die time. I told Chuck I would protect. Let's see if Casey's up for it._

She asked him what he had left. He told her two rounds and Sarah lied to him. "I've got half a mag."

One of Magnus's men yelled out to them, "Drop your weapons and stand up. Put your hands where I can see them."

"I'm gonna go for it," Sarah told Casey. She turned and made eye contact with him. "You in?"

"You bet." He curled his lip, threw her a wink and added, "Hate long goodbyes."

The two spies quickly spun around as they stood up, guns pointed and ready to fire when they saw four armed students come running into the classroom.

"Actually, why don't you drop your weapons?" One of the female students said.

Casey looked up at the students, "Looks like someone called the cavalry."

"Good," Sarah told Casey and gave him a side long glance. "Because I only had one shot left."

Sarah felt Casey look at her and heard him blow out a sigh of relief. Sarah smiled a little on the inside. _Looks I can trust him. I guess that means he is my new partner._

* * *

**Chuck's bedroom**

**After the mission**

Once Chuck had went home, Sarah dropped in at Casey's apartment to jot down the details of the mission while they were still fresh. When she was finished, she made her way over to Chuck's place, where Ellie let her in. She told Sarah that Chuck was in his bedroom.

Sarah stood at the entrance to his bedroom and watched as Chuck put the disc into the drive. She realized that he was completely oblivious to her presence. She waited until she heard the click and saw the screen come to life. "You didn't think we'd let you keep that, did you?"

"I need to know, Sarah."

_He wants answers. I can let him have some of those._"Okay, Chuck," she said and walked into his room. She stood next to him as together they watched the video file labelled Chuck Bartowski.

The file gave Chuck the answers he wanted and partially restored Bryce's reputation. Chuck leaned back in his chair and interpreted what he just saw. "Bryce framed me for cheating to save me."

Sarah took the disk and told Chuck that in order for him to be safe, no one could know about this intel. She left his room, closed the door behind her and slowly walked through his home. When she was alone in the hallway, the emotion that she had fought while watching the video found its way to the surface. Her eyes started to moisten with tiny drops of tears. Pain, hurt, confusion, denial, and a myriad of other emotions flooded over her. She needed to find somewhere to be alone.

* * *

**The Beach**

Sarah made it there just in time for sunset. She had come here to try to sort out the mess that she was. She decided that if it had helped Chuck on day one, it might help her now.

Chuck's words haunted her. "_Bryce framed me to save me." Yes, Chuck, he did. But it ruined your friendship. The CIA don't really care about the assets, or what kind of people the agents turn into as long as they get the job done._

She stopped herself right there. She knew Bryce was an agent, but how could she not see what he really was? _I cared for him too much. It must have blinded me to how he really was. Sure he saved Chuck, but at the cost of his friendship._ Try as she may, she could not reconcile those two thoughts. _I will never do that to Chuck. I will not turn into Bryce or Ryker._

_Chuck is my guy now, not Bryce._

Sarah sat there in the sand and watched the sun set. It really was beautiful this time of day. The oranges, reds, and pinks of the sky made it easy for her to get lost in her thoughts. It made a perfect back drop for her as the waves rolled up on to the shore. She remained there for hours trying to work out a solution that would back her feel better.


	8. The Poisoner

Here is the next chapter. I tried a little something different with this one. It's still a little more narrative then I would have liked let me know what you think.

As always a thank you goes out to Aoife and Naill for their continued help.

This takes place during the episode entitled Chuck vs. The Truth.

* * *

**The Poisoner**

**Wienerlicious**

Chuck had the day off, but unfortunately Sarah had a shift at the hot dog place she couldn't get out of. She didn't like the thought of working when Chuck wasn't close by.

Sarah was caught off guard when she heard the bell jingle in the afternoon and saw him walking up to her. They greeted each other and Sarah tried to hide the joyful feelings she was sure were all over her face. She had no idea why he was here, but she was glad to see him.

She sensed he had something he wanted tell her and it probably had something to do with the most recently completed mission. She stood there and listened to him as he explained that there were a few things he wanted to say, and that this was the very first thing he promised himself he would do.

Sarah could practically hear the words, as if they were a song playing in the background.

_You don't have a clue,_

_What it is like_

_To be next to you._

Sarah stared up into his eyes; her stomach felt a little queasy as it tightened. _He's going to say it, isn't he? _That thought caused her heart rate to climb. She took long breaths to try to calm herself. She wondered if her eyes were betraying her, exposing her thoughts to him and making them plain to see.

_I'm here to tell you,_

_That it is good,_

_That it is real._

She was trying not to burst with excitement, yet she wondered how she would be able to dodge what she knew was coming, while traces of the poison were still in her system. _No one has ever told me this before._

"Sarah, we need..." Chuck started to say as the music continued to play in Sarah's mind and she thought about how they had arrived at this moment.

* * *

**Double Date**

**Several Days Earlier**

Chuck and Sarah had made plans earlier in the week to double date with Ellie and Awesome. Since Chuck wasn't good at deception and lying, they had a short review about the small details of their relationship and their most recent fake date.

Sarah had been surprised that Chuck paid that much attention to her choice of clothes. She hadn't figured he was detailing her as much as she was with him. But one small comment about her blue sweater opened her eyes. She shouldn't have been as surprised as she was. After all, he did figure out how she liked her pizza, what her favorite soft drink was, and how she liked her cheeseburgers.

When she came to that realization she didn't have the usual uneasiness, or the desire to confront him about it or change things. She knew he would just learn her new habits. Besides, there was a sense of safety in the fact that he knew those things. He would never use his knowledge to hurt, betray, or manipulate her.

Those thoughts were with her that evening as Chuck, Sarah, Devon and Ellie sat at the sushi bar. These times were the best, yet also the hardest for Sarah. She wasn't playing the role of girlfriend, though she told herself that what she was doing. The way Sarah interacted with him, the looks, the smiles, the reassuring touches, even the closeness of their bodies when they sat next to each other; all of these subtle clues made it plain to everyone that they were a couple. A real couple.

During dinner Devon made one comment that took Sarah by surprise.

Sarah laughed at the thought. _Slow? He thinks we're taking things slow?_

"You guys are joined at the hip, but that's not where you're supposed to be joined. It's like the east wing of our apartment took a vow of celibacy," Devon remarked.

Sarah glanced over at Chuck, turned back to Devon and laughed again.

Ellie told Devon to mind his own business, then the topic was changed to Ellie's lucky sweater. Devon told them that Ellie had worn that sweater the first time he met her.

Ellie looked directly at Sarah. "He told me that L.L. Bean must've stolen the color from my eyes so it really belonged to me." Ellie leaned back into Devon's arms as he leaned in and kissed Ellie's cheek.

Sarah's face lit up and a smile stretched across it. _Wow! He really is awesome. And they certainly are made for each other._

After dinner was over Ellie thanked Devon for dinner and they embraced one another with a few loving kisses.

Sarah, not wanting to blow their cover, reached for Chuck, wrapped her arms around him, locked her arms around his lower back, and leaned into him. At first it was a bit awkward but when Chuck wrapped his arms around her, the awkwardness began to slowly fade away and was replaced with a growing sense of comfort.

She couldn't tell herself, but this was where she belonged. Whatever it was that Sarah was telling herself was going on, she wanted that feeling to last forever. She was just beginning to settle into him, to feel at home in his arms when a commotion on the sidewalk caused her spy mode to kick in.

A man staggered to within a few feet of them and collapsed. He didn't look to good and that's when Ellie's training took her to the forefront of the scene. A few minutes later, she was riding away in the back of an ambulance with Mason Whitney. Chuck had flashed on his medical I.D and saw that he was some nuclear physicist and that he might not be a very good guy.

Sarah didn't know that she and Chuck had just encountered the mission that would forever change their relationship, and start it down a road Sarah never thought she would ever travel.

* * *

**Bartowski Home**

**Later That Evening**

Devon had used the time while Ellie was at the hospital to ride their exercise bike, which allowed Chuck and Sarah to talk some things through.

Chuck was nervous for his sister and Sarah did everything she knew how to do to calm him down. It seemed to work; but as Sarah made some coffee for them while they waited for Ellie to return home she overheard Devon's conversation with Chuck.

_We need to secure our cover. We need to...how do I even start that conversation?_

Sarah hadn't had much time to think it through as she heard Chuck yell out his sister's name. She turned around and saw him give Ellie a big hug. His concern for her was endearing to Sarah. She didn't know anyone could have that level of concern for someone else. She felt a smile coming up from inside her. _I shouldn't be surprised._Sarah made her way over to where Chuck, Devon, and Ellie were with two cups of coffee in hand.

Ellie explained that she thought Whitney was poisoned or had an allergic reaction; he didn't survive it. Devon and her said good night and went to bed, leaving Sarah and Chuck alone in the living room. When they were out of earshot, Chuck told Sarah that he didn't like that the spy world and his real world were starting to mix.

Sarah calmly explained to him that it was a coincidence that they were around when Whitney had collapsed and that Ellie helped him because she's a doctor. That seemed to calm him down and Sarah handed him a cup of coffee. He took it and they talked about her concern for their cover. She told him that in order for their cover to be secure they needed to make love. That statement caused Chuck to sip a little more coffee than he intended, burning his throat a little in the process.

"We'll talk about the details later," she told him.

"Um, yeah. Yeah...okay," Chuck stammered out.

* * *

**The Next Morning**

After Sarah and Casey received their mission objective, Sarah went to the Buy More to get Chuck. She found him talking to a customer, Lou. Chuck told Sarah that he had fixed Lou's phone. Without realizing it, Sarah shifted her weight and took a defensive, jealous posture as she smiled at Lou. The rest of the encounter was awkward and had Chuck stuttering, unable to make complete coherent sentences. Sarah made sure Lou knew who she was - his girlfriend. That word strolled off of her lips with another proud smile.

As Lou walked away, Sarah sensed that something was just a little off, almost like she had interfered with something. She pushed that aside and the two of them left to check out Mason's body. They found that a toxic derivative of Pentothal had been used and that Mason had a hidden bug on him. When they were done with the body, they waited for another set of orders.

* * *

**That Evening**

Sarah had showered, decided on a piece of purple lingerie, and lightly dabbed on her favorite perfume. After the awkward encounter at the Buy More, part of her wanted to make it up to Chuck. However another part of Sarah was wondering why she cared so much; it was as if there was something else motivating her.

_I shouldn't be doing this. Not with him. I shouldn't lead him on. He deserves better. But what about our cover? It needs to be secure. But does it happen this fast in a real relationship? It did with me and Bryce but...no. Chuck is not Bryce. He is better than Bryce. Better than me._

She pushed down her feelings as Ellie let her in to their home and Sarah made her way down the hallway to his bedroom. She heard the unmistakable sound of R&B when she walked up and stood in his doorway, which Chuck had left open a bit. She opened the door and saw him moving and gyrating to the music. He was blissfully unaware of her presence. She couldn't help but smile at what she saw.

Romance hung in the air when Chuck became aware of her presence, but Sarah reminded him that nothing was going to happen. She was there spending the night with him, in his bed, strictly for cover.

After a brief awkward discussion of what Sarah had chosen to wear and why she wore it, and a discussion about Lou and dating other people, any hint of romance had been snuffed out. It was replaced with an awkward silence.

They laid in the bed, backs turned, looking away from each other. _This is not going the way I had hoped it would._

Sarah had hoped to spend the night with him in a comfortable, easy sleep. She had thought being this close to him would be relaxing. Chuck however, was not cooperating. It was exactly this kind of situation her superiors had warned her about. Perhaps they were right_._ "When you are compromised, you can't function properly. Lesson number one: Never fall in love."

_I haven't._ She lied to herself. She didn't want to believe she had. That would mean reassignment and she didn't want that. That would mean that she would have failed in her promise to protect him and she couldn't bear the thought of failing him.

The night went from bad to worse. Ellie barged into Chuck's room acting strange and saying some pretty funny things. Then Casey knocked on the door and asked for that was just a pretext. When Devon left the room, he explained to Chuck and Sarah that he was getting interference on the bugs they had planted around the apartment. They managed to find that Ellie had the same sort of bug on her as Mason Whitney had when they had examined his body earlier. Which meant Ellie had been poisoned too.

* * *

**The Hospital**

Chuck was not happy about the situation. They had taken Ellie to the hospital and told him to have patience, as the agency was trying to come up with an antidote. He did the only thing he knew how to do. Improvise.

He reached out his hand, grabbed the bug from Casey, and spoke into it. He told whoever was listening on the other end that the codes would be on the lady doctor.

Later, Sarah lay in a hospital bed, rolled over on her side. She was wearing a hospital gown and wig to sell the fact that she was the lady doctor, that she was Ellie. Sarah was consumed with her thoughts while Casey made himself look busy outside of her room. _He sure will do anything for his family. I wish I had someone like that._An accidental smile sprouted on her face. Even this early into the assignment. he was proving to be unlike anyone she had ever met.

_He's sweet when he's not mixed up in my world. He's someone I would-_

Before she could finish that train of thought she heard the sliding glass doors to her room open.

Sarah gathered herself. She slowed her breathing, relaxed her body, and lay as still as she could. The sound of his shoes gave her just enough of an indication as to where he was in the room, so that she wasn't surprised when she felt his presence lurking behind her.

She felt him turn away and she opened her eyes. He turned back around and started to pull up the sleeve of her gown when she sprang into action. A few quick movements later she had sat up in her bed, had his arm behind his back and Casey entered with his gun cocked and ready to fire. But the poisoner wasn't giving up so easy. He elbowed Sarah, which momentarily stunned her. That gave him enough time to vault himself around the end of the bed toward Casey, kicking his feet out and knocking the gun from his hand. Casey took a few steps backward toward his partner, hands out front of him in a defensive position. Sarah quickly drew the gun she had tucked underneath her pillow.

At gunpoint, the poisoner gave them the option to trade the codes for the antidote or to be poisoned and die. Before any decision could be made, Chuck came running into the room holding a necklace with the codes on them. He accidentally bumped a cart into the poisoner who dropped the small red vial of poison on the ground that he had been threatening them, exposing all of them.

The poisoner saw his opportunity to escape and took it. He grabbed the necklace from Chuck and took off running through the hospital. Though stopped briefly by Casey, he got away. However, Sarah caught the vial of the antidote that he had dropped.

Sarah gave the vial to Chuck."Here," she said urgently.

"No. No, it's for Ellie," Chuck demanded.

"There's no debate, it has to be you. You're the Intersect," Sarah responded.

"I won't take it knowing that Ellie will die without it, that both of you have been poisoned too," Chuck insisted.

"You're a good person, Chuck, and I respect that but I got a job to do. So take it before I shove it down your throat," Casey growled.

"Okay, okay, fine, I'll do it," Chuck lied.

"Thank you." Sarah was relieved he finally listened to her.

"I'll pretend to take it, then run like hell to my sister's room and make her take it. Why did I say that out loud?"

"It's the poison. It makes you tell the truth," Sarah answered.

Casey raised his gun and pointed it at Chuck. "You do that I'll give chase, put a gun to your head and threaten to pull the trigger if you don't take it."

"Would you really shoot me?"

"No."

"Don't waste a bullet. We're already dead. I'm saving my sister." Chuck took off toward Ellie's room.

Sarah looked to Casey for help. _If he does this I've failed my assignment. He needs to take it, I can't fail._

Casey grunted in disapproval and the two of them ran after Chuck. But when they had caught up with him, they saw him giving the antidote to Ellie. All Sarah could do was stare through the glass window and watch Chuck give away his chance to live.

_I would have sacrificed my life to protect him. Now we both are going to die. At least I'll be with him._The poison was already starting to cause Sarah to be honest with herself. She was surprised by her thoughts. Her last few hours would be spent not by thinking about her mom, her dad or even that little girl, but about Chuck.

* * *

**On The Poisoner's Trail**

They were sitting in the hallway against the wall preparing for the last few hours of life. Chuck was rambling on about his life when he stopped suddenly. Sarah watched as he got up and found the hand-held tracker the poisoner had dropped when he had made his escape. Chuck flashed on the small device, revealing that their poisoner was called Riordan Paine.

They followed its signal to a downtown apartment. They had to take the elevator up and while waiting for it, Chuck told Sarah that she was so pretty. The comment forced a smile from her. She liked hearing that from him. Other men told her similar things but Sarah knew with Chuck there was no agenda. It was honest and sincere. She had to fight to keep herself composed, to keep the truth from coming out of her lips in a truth induced reply.

The team broke down the door and entered Paine's apartment after a funny explanation from Chuck as to who was knocking on his door.

"Freeze!" Sarah yelled.

The two agents pointed their firearms at him. He raised his hands in surrender.

"My partner would rather shoot you in the face than let you get away," Sarah told him.

"You called me your partner." Casey looked at Sarah. She raised her eyebrows, nodded and smiled quickly.

A few uneasy moments later, the team was about to drink a vial of the antidote but Chuck got an idea. He told them that the villain always samples it first.

Sarah watched as Paine slapped Casey's gun hand away and cart wheeled over to the other side of the room. _Enough with this already._ Sarah steadied her aim and shot him in the leg.

"Very un-sportsmanlike," Casey hissed with approval. "I like it."

When asked, Paine told the team all the wanted to know.

Sarah grabbed the antidote and gave a vial to Chuck. Before the two of them drank it they had a small exchange about their true feelings, and then waited for the other agents to arrive and take Paine away.

* * *

**Wienerlicious**

**The Day after the Mission**

Though the poison was mostly out of her system Sarah couldn't shake off the feelings and emotions that she experienced during the mission. She knew that something was different from the moment of her and Chuck's first interaction at the Buy More. In the few short months that she had been assigned to Chuck, she had grown very fond of him. But during this drug induced mission she became hyper sensitive of her true feelings towards him. She realized that she that she liked Chuck very much. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before.

_I had to lie to him. I need to keep my feelings out of this._

While preparing the store and talking care of some customers that walked in she kept replaying that conversation over and over.

(...)

"Nothing, it's just this...this will probably be the last chance that I have to know the truth." Chuck paused, took a deep breath and continued. "I know you're just doing your job here but sometimes it feels so real, you know? So tell me...you and me, us...our thing under the undercover thing, is it going anywhere?"

There was a gentleness about his voice, a softness in his question, a look in his eyes. It killed her to see that, to know she had to push down her desires for the sake of the job. To sacrifice yet something else for the sake of duty.

Sarah composed herself the best she could, looked at Chuck, and tried to lie through the poison, hoping her training would work.

"I'm sorry, Chuck. No." She swallowed hard as she saw his dreams come crashing down.

"Got it. Thank you for being honest. Even though I guess you don't really have a choice in the matter."

(...)

Those words seemed to haunt her now. Try as she may to push those words away, they came running back to her. It was with those thoughts going through her mind, that she heard the bell jingle and saw Chuck enter the store. She could practically hear the words to a song she had found while browsing the store on her iTunes account.

_You don't have a clue,_

_What it is like_

_To be next to you._

_I'm here to tell you,_

_That it is good,_

_That it is true._

Sarah tried to hide her excitement and feelings of joy that she was sure were all over her face. Chuck walked over to her and told her that he saw a list of stuff that he hadn't gotten a chance to do or say. But that was going to change, because today he was going to start doing those things.

_Words can't be that strong_

_My heart is reelin'_

_This is that fresh,_

_That fresh feeling._

Sarah gazed up into his eyes, her stomach felt a little queasy as it tightened. _He's going to say it, isn't he?_ That thought caused her heart rate to climb and a fluttery sensation swept across her body. She took deep, long breaths, trying to keep her excitement in check.

_No one has ever told me this before. _She was trying not to burst with excitement, yet she wondered how she would be able to dodge what she knew was coming.

Chuck took a few small steps closer to her. _Here it comes. It's okay, Chuck. Say it. I already know how you feel. Just say it. I want to hear you say it. I want to know what it is like to hear it for real. I don't know what I am going to do, but I want to hear you say it to me._

"We need to break up."

"What?" Sarah was knocked off kilter. She couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"You know, like, fake break up our pretend relationship."

Sarah tried to gauge his words through her shock but all she could feel was disappointment and sick to her stomach. Half of her now wanted to be with him, around him all the time. But the other half, the spy half knew this was for the best.

"I just can't do this anymore, you know? The longer we go, the longer we keep trying to fool people into believing we are a real couple, the person I keep fooling the most is me."

He lingered several more seconds before slowly backing away and leaving the store. Sarah stood there stunned, unable to move, lost in a thousand different thoughts and emotions. He had left her speechless and partly heartbroken.

Looking back on it from the future she would always point to this mission, this moment as the turning point for them. This critical juncture held so much meaning and got her moving down a path that would ultimately change her life, forever.


	9. The Prince and the Guardian

This chapter is a little different. I am venturing into unknown territory with this chapter. I am really interested to know your feedback on this one because it is different from the other chapters in a lot of ways. You'll see what I mean.

Once again I would like to thank Aoife and Naill for their help.

This chapter takes place during the episode entitled Chuck vs. The Imported Hard Salami

* * *

**The Prince and the Guardian**

**Bartowski Home**

**Spring 2036**

Today was a quiet day, a day of rest and relaxation. Her 20 year old twin sons, Liam and Levi had left the preceding day. Liam went back to college on the other side of the country while Levi returned to his job at a National Park. Her daughter, Kayla, had made plans to go shopping with a few friends after class. As a junior in high school a few years back, Kayla decided to take her requisites at a local community college, which had be a relief for Sarah. Her son's leaving home and being so far away had been hard enough and Sarah hadn't wanted to have to say goodbye to her daughter just yet.

Sarah usually went with Chuck, Morgan, and Casey - when Casey was around - to meet a new client but she had passed when Chuck asked her to come. She told him that the house needed to be cleaned after the boys passed through, to which Chuck raised a knowing eyebrow.

Sarah liked her home neat, clean, and organized. She used her boys as an excuse, and though dealing with two teenage boys had its challenges, it was her daughter who was the messy one. Sarah hadn't thought that raising a daughter would be as difficult as it turned out to be. She expected Kayla to be more like the stereo typical girl. During her pregnancy Sarah often dreamt about what it would be like to do the girly stuff she never got to do herself. While there were plenty of those opportunities, Kayla turned out to be an interesting amalgamation of her and her husband.

Kayla bore a striking resemblance to Sarah. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and a smile that could light up even the darkest of rooms. She was also very much a tomboy. She could hang with her older brothers when they played basketball, football, or soccer, that is until their physical strength outmatched her desire to be included. She was tough as nails though and had taken a few self defense classes her Aunt Grimes taught.

She also had her father's technological skills, and his affinity for gaming. She challenged and often beat the all the boys, her father included, in whatever video game was being played. And she took great pride in that.

Despite all of that, Kayla was still a girl and prone to emotional outbursts. Sarah learned early on that when Kayla was emotional all she could do was to be a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on. Though Sarah didn't fault her dad, she wanted to be there for Kayla in a way that her dad never was for her.

It was 3:47pm and Sarah was on the couch reading a book. Suddenly she heard the door open, saw Kayla walk through and forcibly close the door behind her. Sarah watched as Kayla paused for a moment, leaned back against the front door, took a few long and labored breaths before shooting up the stairs into her bedroom and slamming the door shut.

_What was that about? She's supposed to be out with friends. Something is obviously wrong. Maybe I can help._

Sarah and Kayla had a special kind of relationship. Sarah had always been able to talk to her, to speak her language. Sarah took it hard during her junior year when it looked as though Kayla was going to follow in her brothers footsteps and leave home. Emma had helped Sarah see that although Kayla would always be a child in her eyes, children grow up and leave home. She explained that it was hard for her to watch Sarah leave and not know when she was coming back, but that she had to. In order to do that, the mother/daughter relationship had to move from a parent/child status to one of mutual friendship. And though Sarah tried, she had to rely on her mom to help her through that difficult process. Emma was always just a phone call away.

Sarah put her book down, made her way up the stairs and knocked on the door. "Everything okay, honey?" An uneasy silence emanated from the room as Sarah stood there and waited for her daughter to respond.

"Go away, mom!" Kayla yelled back angrily.

Sarah couldn't even if she wanted to. "Can I come in?" Sarah felt the hurt and pain through the silence on the other side of the door. The silence was her cue to come in. Sarah gently opened the door only to see her daughter sprawled across her bed, face down in her pillow.

"What do you want?" Kayla turned around and looked at her mom.

She had been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy, cheeks flushed and damp. Sarah's heart broke for her. She never got used to that. No amount of preparation had adequately prepared her for the almost overwhelming emotions that seeing her children hurt created. Seeing Kayla like that stirred within her the motherly instinct. All she wanted to do was to wrap her in a cocoon, to shield her and protect her from this world, the world that could be so very cruel.

Kayla sat up on the bed and Sarah walked over and joined her. Sarah put one arm around her shoulder, pulled her in closer, and gently kissed her hair. "What's wrong, honey?"

"Jeremy! He said he'd be my date for Spring Fling but now he wants to go with some new girl he just met," she told mom in-between sobs.

Sarah leaned her cheek down and rested it on the top of Kayla's head. "It's okay. Can't you-"

"And I don't even know why I care so much." Kayla's chest heaved up and down as she tried to catch her breath.

Sarah immediately knew what was going on. She had heard this story before. It was, after all, the story Chuck told her about Lou. "Are you sure?" Sarah asked softly.

"Sure of what? That he wants to go with this other girl? Yeah! He made that very clear."

"No, honey." Sarah chose her next words carefully. "Are you sure?" Sarah emphasized the question.

Kayla pulled away from her mom. "What do you mean?" She eyed mom curiously.

Sarah gave her daughter a knowing look.

"Yeah, he's my best friend, mom."

Sarah deepened her look. Because they spoke the same language, Sarah knew that was all it would take for Kayla to get what she was really asking.

Kayla thought for a moment. "Um, I-I , um...I've never thought of Jeremy like that but, yes? No? I don't know." She was getting frustrated.

"Maybe you should-"

"I should what, mom? Tell him. What exactly would I say?" Kayla fired back. "Hey, Jeremy, I think I like you but I don't know," she mocked with a hint of sarcasm. "Besides, what do you know about it? You and dad are like this...this perfect married couple."

Sarah knew better. She knew that the road she traveled to get here with Chuck was a long a rocky road. Most of their troubles were front loaded however, so their kids didn't know much about their troubled beginning.

"Kayla, honey, I know you think that your dad and I are perfect for each other and while that might be true, we didn't have a very good start."

Kayla squinted her eyes and cocked her head. "Really? What do you mean?"

Sarah took a deep breath in. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret but, **but** it has to stay between us."

Kayla shook her head and eagerly awaited this big secret to be revealed.

_It's okay. I know I can trust her. Plus it might help her. _"Well," Sarah paused and drew another breath before continuing. "You know the bed time stories your father and I told you when you were younger? Specifically The Prince and The Guardian tales?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Uh, well, parts of those tales are true." A smile hung across Sarah's face as the words rolled out. "The Prince was your dad, and I was...I was the Guardian."

A contemplative silence grew outward from Kayla. She was working out the details, trying, guessing at which parts were true and which were fabricated.

"Let me start with The Prince and The Poisoner. Remember that one?" Sarah asked her daughter.

"One of my favorites. The Prince saved his sister from the Poisoner, the Guardian shot him and then lied to the Prince. I knew she loved him and wanted to be with him." Kayla's face lit up. "I get it, mom. You loved dad but you lied to him...and then you kissed him when you thought you were going to die, didn't you?"

"Yes I did. I kissed your father." The memory of that moment washed over her. Her body reacted like it had just happened. She caught the scent of his deodorant mixed with the cool dampness of the salty air. Her fingers felt the minute beads of sweat against the back of his neck as they curled inward remembering the force with which she held onto his shirt collar.

Sarah didn't want to get lost in the memory, not with her daughter beside her.

"But, sweetheart, that wasn't in the Poisoner's story."

"It's the next one, I know. But they are easy to put together. It just made sense." Kayla smiled.

"Yes. Yes I did kiss your father," Sarah repeated.

* * *

**San Pedro**

**Dock 14B Northwest Pier**

**Present Day**

Sarah and Chuck had to use a couple of crowbars to pry open the front part a one large wooden crate. Once pulled away the wood fell to the ground and hit the cement floor with a thud exposing what was inside.

They walked around and stood in front of a large cylindrical metallic container with a timer attached to the front. All the intel they had gathered, including Chuck's flash, indicated that this was a bomb.

_So this is it._

The two of them looked at the bomb. Their demise loomed in front of them. Their death's wouldn't be the result of some toxin that slowly sucked the life from them. No, it would be in a fiery chemical explosion if they couldn't disarm the trigger attached to the timer.

_Like the first night all over again._

Sarah rushed over, knelt down in front of the timer and took off the number pad below the display and examined the wiring. But her rudimentary understanding of bombs and how they were wired held no answers for her.

Chuck told her that he didn't flash and had nothing for her. She responded by telling him to go and get to safety while she would stay behind and try to diffuse it.

"No. I'm not leaving you here." Chuck turned to face her.

"Go. That's an order," Sarah threw that statement at him with a touch of anger.

"No," Chuck told her defiantly.

Sarah got up, drew her gun, and walked over to within a few feet of where he stood.

"I said go." She clicked the safety off and pointed the gun at him.

"Oh, I see. So you're gonna shoot me to prevent me from being blown up? That's a great plan," he retorted.

"Why are you so stubborn?"

"Actually I consider this a rare moment of courage. I don't know where it's coming from. I guess you just bring out the worst in me," he explained.

Sarah clicked the safety back on and returned her gun back to its proper place. She took a few small steps toward him. "And you in me."

At that moment they heard a continuous high pitched beeping sound coming from the bomb. They looked over and saw the timer.

Ten seconds.

They turned back to face one another.

Nine. Eight. Seven.

"It was nice knowing you," Chuck told her.

Six. Five. Four.

Sarah's life may not have flashed before her eyes but she was filled with several thoughts as her life was drawing to a close. _What are these feelings I am having for him? Are they real? I have to know if they are._

Three. Two. One.

Chuck closed his eyes.

_It's now or never._

Sarah reached up, put her hands on his cheeks, stood on the tips of her toes, and pressed her lips to his.

After a brief moment of shock she felt him respond. Both their hands pulled each other closer, their bodies leaned in towards one another's, as they shared several long and passionate kisses. Every other sound in the warehouse dissipated. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of their kisses.

When the passion of that moment died down Sarah slowly pulled back. She kept her eyes on him and let go of his shirt collar, which she had grabbed to keep him close, and let herself fall flat footed against the ground.

Sarah glanced over at the timer and saw that it read 00:00:00. She looked back to Chuck. _Why didn't the bomb go off? Are we still alive? It was...is real. Why did I kiss him? I shouldn't have done that._

She tried to compose herself. "Well, the good news is we're alive. And the bad news is that this is kind of an awkward moment right now." Sarah's breathing was labored as she talked. She was still trying to catch her breath.

"Completely comfortable on my end."

Sarah was speechless. It had felt good to release that tension, that energy. It was real, those feelings she had for him. Now she knew. But what were they exactly? What did they mean?

"Just saying," Chuck added.

Sarah looked lost, as if she had just turned a corner into unfamiliar territory.

* * *

**Bartowski Home 2036**

"Mom. Hello? Anyone home?" Kayla waved her hand in front of her mom's face.

"Huh, what?" Sarah suddenly returned to reality.

"You were, um, you were staring off into space. Like you were in your own little world. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's just that every now and then I get these..." Sarah saw concern on her daughter's face. "Never mind." She cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

"Ooookaaaay...So what you're saying then, is that I should...kiss Jeremy?"

Sarah loved her daughter and was constantly amazed by how smart she was. But every now and then there were moments and statements, like the one she just made, that reminded Sarah that Kayla was still a child that needed a parent to guide her into adulthood.

"No, no," Sarah almost laughed at the question. "For us, your dad and I, well for me anyway, that kiss made me realize that I had feelings for your dad. I didn't know exactly what they were but I knew from that moment on that I cared about him very much. But it wasn't until we were honest with each other that it worked out."

Kayla was glued to her mom, soaking up every word. "So what are you saying, mom?"

"Find some subtle way to test the water, to figure out how you feel first. If you like him. Then talk to him. But, sweetheart, be patient. You have time. Don't rush or try to force things. If it's meant to be, then you will get there." Sarah grinned as she talked to Kayla. Though it was an acquired skill that Sarah thought she still hadn't mastered, giving advice about boys to their daughter was one of the small dreams Chuck had made come true. She was glad he had found her, the real her that she thought she had buried never to be seen again, and would not let go.

"I will mom. Thanks."

"Anytime, kiddo." Sarah opened her arms and let Kayla lean in to her. The warmth of the hug made all the trouble and worries seem meaningless.

When they let loose of each other Kayla looked at her mom. "Now, about these tales. Tell me more. Who's The Captain and is the King's Advisor real? Oh, oh, what about the Evil Knights and the Circle? Did they really try to kill you?" Kayla gasped. "Don't tell me you dated dad's best frie..."

* * *

**Bartowski Home 2036**

**Later that evening**

After an enjoyable dinner, Kayla spent the rest of the evening out with some friends. Meanwhile, Chuck and Sarah nestled together on the couch and watched one of Sarah's favorite movies. This particular movie Sarah had bought for Kayla when she was still a baby but, there was something about the voice of the leading male character that seemed so familiar to Sarah that she found the voice oddly comforting.

_This would be the perfect time to tell him. It'll be like a fairy tale, like the one we are watching. I want him to know that I remember._

"Chuck, honey, I think you should know something."

"That you love me." It was more of a playful statement than a real question.

"Well, yes, of course I love you." Sarah tilted her head up from his chest and they gave each other a few quick kisses. Sarah drew a contended breath, closed her eyes, and smiled. She could feel his eyes upon her. "But that's not what I was going to say."

"Oh?" Chuck continued to look into her.

"I remember." She glowed with excitement. "I remember our first kiss at the docks. The one you told me about. Our first real kiss."

"That's great, baby," he replied enthusiastically. "It was amazing, wasn't it? At least I thought so."

"It was." Sarah nodded in agreement before continuing. "I was talking to Kayla when it hit me. She's having boy problems again and I was trying to help."

"Did your advice work better than last time?" Chuck quipped.

"Ha ha." She mocked laughter.

"Jeremy troubles, huh?"

"How did you know?"

"Come on, babe. She's been in to him for a long time. Probably doesn't even know it herself." Chuck knowingly smiled. "You know what they say. Like mother, like daughter."

Sarah lifted her head off his chest, eyed him curiously, and playfully slugged him in the shoulder.

"Ooww. What was that for?" He rubbed his shoulder pretending to be in pain.

Sarah shot him a gaze that said, 'You know', and smiled whimsically.

As they settled back into the movie Sarah spoke up. "There is one more thing. She knows that parts of the Prince and the Guardian Tales are true."

Chuck's eyes bugged out.

The television responded as if cued by Sarah.

"...Don't freak out!" Rapunzel told Flynn Rider.


End file.
